The Virgin and the Billionaires: The Complete Series

by K. J. Diamond

  Her purse lit and buzzed in the sand. She laughed when she pulled her phone out and saw Jessica’s face gracing the screen. Was somebody in the Universe trying to make this the most difficult day ever?

  “Hello?” Dana answered.

  “Hey Dana! What are you up to?” The bubbly cheer in Jessica’s voice made it clear to Dana that she was totally clueless about what had just transpired with Alexander.

  “Nothing important. Listen, I’m glad you called.” Dana didn’t match Jessica’s cheerfulness.

  “Well good. I was hoping –“

  “I don’t think that we should hang out anymore.”

  There was silence on the other end.

  “Is this about last night?” Jessica asked. She sounded confused.

  “I don’t need people in my life who have ulterior motives. Sorry, Jessica.” Dana cut the conversation short and hung up her phone. There was nothing Jessica could say to change her mind.

  Good riddance. She dropped her phone in the sand and looked back out onto the water. Her relief was still dampened by the uncertainty she felt.

  Her life had never been so exciting, but the price of the excitement was proving very high at that point. Dana hated the feelings of conflict and confusion that were coming to a head in her mind. All of the doubts and fears she had had since she had first moved were finally sitting at the forefront of her mind. She pondered what she should do. She could leave behind the entire Price-Levy cabal, including William, and sink herself into her work. But then she would still have to deal with Los Angeles, its traffic, and possibly more dangerous people.

  If the other people she encountered were as self-serving as Jessica and Alexander, she didn’t know how much longer she wanted to hang around. Perhaps it would be better to go back to Chico and live a quiet life in the town she knew well. But then she would have to give up her dream job, and that just wasn’t an option.

  I can’t hide from life forever. Dana was exhausting herself thinking about what she was going to do. She rested her head between her knees and breathed deeply.

  Her phone broke her concentration once again.

  Can’t Jessica get the picture? Dana readied her hand above the ‘decline’ button, but paused when she saw it was William calling. She let it ring. He called twice more.

  “I’m sorry, William,” she said aloud, looking at the screen. “I just need some time to think.” She put the iPhone back in her bag, where it eventually stopped buzzing.

  This was the most homesick Dana had felt since she had arrived. She realized that she hadn’t spoken to her family in weeks. Perhaps, she thought, that was just what she needed. Dana didn’t like turning to her family for advice, but it felt like she didn’t have many other places to turn at this point.

  Dana reached for her phone again and called her parents in Chico. She waited for somebody to pick up.

  “Dana!” her mother’s voice shrieked with delight. “I was wondering when the heck you were going to call us.”

  “Hi, mom.” Dana said, not echoing her mother’s excitement.

  “Oh, you don’t sound too happy. How did I know you were calling to ‘talk’?”

  Dana couldn’t help but chuckle. “Mother’s intuition, I guess.”

  “Right you are, darling. That, and that you never call me with good news.”

  Dana sighed. “Mom? I have a problem.”

  “What is it, dear?”

  “It’s a guy problem.”

  Dana’s mother gasped. “A guy problem? There’s some good news! What a wonderful problem to have. I knew LA would be good for you!”

  “Yeah, I guess I’m glad to finally even have a guy problem. That doesn’t make it suck any less.”

  “I know, dear. I was young once, too.”

  “This guy problem involves two guys, and it’s been pretty heart-wrenching.”

  “Do you have a crush on both of them? Did you get snubbed again, Dana? Men can be very cruel.”

  “Yes, I know that. But this problem is kind of…the opposite.”

  Dana’s mom gasped again. “That’s my girl!” She exclaimed with delight.

  Dana explained her situation to her mother, who punctuated each bit of information Dana relayed with exaggerated expressions of shock, joy, and dismay, alternately.

  “I just don’t know if it’s such a good idea to stay here, Mom. It’s exciting and all, but it’s just crazy and kind of unpleasant. I love my job, but my life here is too much.”

  “It sounds to me like you’re going through a normal adjustment phase. You’ve never done anything like this before. Moving to LA, getting involved in these surreal relationships – this is huge for you, Dana. You should be proud of yourself for stepping so far outside of the little box you grew up in here in Chico. I’m certainly proud of you.”

  “Thanks, mom,” Dana replied.

  “And the truth is, Dana, that there’s nothing going for you in Chico. And I don’t mean that in a mean way. You are too large for this little town. You’re too smart, too driven, and too talented not to be in a city like LA. You belong there. I’ve known that since you were a little girl, because you were always so bright and talented. I worried for you growing up because I knew that you needed to go somewhere that could keep up with you. It’s never been the other way around.

  You belong at an extraordinary job. You belong with a high-caliber man who can keep up with you. Don’t give up just because it’s hard. A lot of things in life are hard, so you should get used to doing those hard things now.”

  Dana felt shockingly better. “Thank you for telling me exactly what I needed to hear.” She paused. “I think I have to go now.”

  “You go, my girl. I love you. Call me more often.”

  “Okay, mom. I will. Love you too.”

  Dana hung up her phone and walked to her car. She headed north to Malibu.

  ***

  Dana didn’t realize that she had no idea how to get to William’s house until she had lost herself in the winding roads of the Malibu hills. She didn’t have any knowledge of William’s home except what the gate and the surrounding houses looked like. She drove around aimlessly until the sun had completely set, making it even more difficult for her to gain some sense of direction.

  She drove into a couple of dead ends that looked promising, but discovered upon ringing the gates that none of them were the right dead end. Finally, she reached the end of a street near the top of a familiar mountain. When she saw the foliage obscuring the neighboring houses, she knew that she had arrived at William’s street. She pulled her car up to the speaker in front of his gate. Only after she had buzzed did she realize that she hadn’t bothered to call William and tell him she was coming. She clamored for her phone, but before she could find it, William’s voice broke through the buzzer’s intercom.

  “Hello?” he said, warily.

  “Hi, it’s –“

  The gate buzzed and opened before Dana had even had a chance to say her name. She hit the gas and zoomed up the hill to William’s front door.

  When she got out of her car at the top of the hill, William was waiting for her at the front door.

  “What a nice surprise,” he said, opening his arms.

  Dana resisted.

  “I think we need to talk. We do need to talk,” Dana corrected herself.

  “Sure,” William replied, letting her in and walking her to his living room. “What about?”

  Dana sat on one of William’s soft, plushy couches, looking serious.

  “I know it’s taboo to bring up the past and all –“

  “Nonsense,” William interrupted. “Especially if it’s important.” He had given himself away.

  “So you do know, then.”

  William feigned a puzzled look. “About what?”

  Dana’s brow furrowed. “You know exactly ‘what’.” She didn’t like being messed with.

  “What – you and Alexander?”

  Dana gave a curt nod.

  “That was a
secret?” William asked.

  “Apparently not,” Dana muttered, frustrated.

  William sat on the couch next to her, mindful of Dana’s personal space.

  “Sorry. Jessica can be a bit of a backstabber. I think she just wanted to throw a wrench in her competition, you know? She gets pretty possessive of Alexander, which is sad if you ask me.” William spoke frankly.

  “So you knew about that, too. I see.”

  “You must have been pretty upset when you heard.”

  “Less than you’d think. He was honest with me, ultimately. I have to give him credit for that.” The weight that had lifted of Dana’s shoulders was enormous. She couldn’t believe she was talking openly with William about her affair with Alexander.

  The anxiety that had manifested as tension in her body melted away. She relaxed on William’s couch. William extended his arm and lightly played with Dana’s hair as she stared at the ceiling.

  “You look like you could use a drink,” William said with a soft smile.

  Dana nodded. William returned a moment later with a bottle and two glasses.

  “One more question,” Dana said.

  “What’s that?” William was still unscrewing the bottle’s cork.

  Dana pulled her feet up and curled herself into a ball on the couch. William turned to look.

  “Your ass looks amazing from here,” he quipped.

  Dana smiled, flattered. “Why did you intercept when you knew Alexander and I were, uh –“

  “Hooking up?”

  “Yeah.”

  “For exactly that reason. Because that’s all he ever does with girls. You’re young. I could tell that you’re – you were – pretty naïve. I know what Alexander’s like because I’ve known him forever. I knew that there was a good chance that he would leave you damaged goods: he’d seduce you with his money, his power, his swagger, his looks, and then drop you like a china doll and break your heart. I’ve seen him do it to other girls. Hell, he’s been doing it to Jessica for years. She just takes it and clings to him like a lost puppy.” William handed her a glass.

  “I didn’t want to see you get hurt,” he continued. “I hate playing games, and I hate seeing people get played with. I hated myself for giving credence to anything Jessica said, but I felt strongly enough about you and the situation that I put that aside.”

  Dana wanted to ask why he hadn’t just been direct with her about Alexander since he knew, but William continued before she had a chance.

  “I’m not that great at being direct, if you remember. But I also didn’t want to appear meddlesome or manipulative. I asked you to do things with me because I wanted to get you away from Alexander and because I liked you. But even though I had my own motives, I wanted to respect your privacy and allow you to make your own decision.”

  So he really did do this all for me. Dana was delighted.

  “I appreciate your chivalry. But the truth is that Alexander was mostly honest with me, except about Jessica. He may not have been the most decent man, but he always ended up telling me the truth. And our split – if you could even call it that - was mutual. I saw his faults. He’s not invincible.

  Even though I’m not a blubbering mess, the whole thing did leave a bad taste in my mouth. Now, though, I’m more excited and surprisingly content with how everything played out.”

  “And why is that?” William asked, grinning.

  “I’m pretty sure you know the answer to that too.” Dana smiled and leaned in to plant a kiss on William’s soft lips. She lingered for a moment before returning to her relaxed position on the couch. “It’s clear to me that your heart was – and is - in the right place.” She had never felt so at ease talking to someone.

  William placed a hand on Dana’s outstretched leg, caressing it.

  “So, what do we do now?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” Dana said coyly. “Perhaps we should have an ‘arrangement’,” she joked.

  “The only arrangement I want with you is the kind where you are the only girl in my life and I’m the only guy in yours. No games. Just you and I, being together.”

  “Official?” Dana joked again.

  “A card carrying couple,” William said. “I promise I’ll always be honest with you, and I promise to be kind and caring. I’ll cook you dinners –“

  “You mean you’ll have your cook cook us dinners,” Dana smirked.

  William blushed. “Yes, that – but I’ll cook for you, too.” He paused. His tone turned serious.

  “What do you say, Dana Jacobs? Will you be my girlfriend?”

  Dana felt her heart leap into her chest. This was rather fast, yet her gut instinct told her this was perfectly right.

  “You’re so romantic,” she said matter-of-factly. “I don’t want to make any promises of ‘happily ever after’, like you can just sweep me off my feet and make me fall in love with you forever and ever and nothing will ever be bad. That’s just not who I am, especially not now. I may not have much of life under my belt, but I’ve learned enough in the last two months to know that I need to be a little more cautious in the commitments I make.”

  William’s face turned pale. Dana could tell that he was nervous.

  “But I’m willing to give it a try,” she continued. “If you’re really willing to give me your devotion, I’m happy to give you mine in return.”

  William’s expression softened into a glowing smile. He lunged toward Dana on the other end of the couch, pinning her to the cushions and smothering her in kisses. Dana’s heart melted, and she kissed William with more feeling than she knew it was possible to convey with a pair of wet lips. Dana finally pulled away and looked William in his eyes, hovering inches away from her face.

  “This is excellent,” she delighted. “I need somebody with a good heart to help me navigate this crazy city life.”

  William smiled. “So do I.”

  “Who knows,” Dana said, stroking William’s cheek with her palm. “We may even fall in love.”

  William’s eyes pierced Dana’s, looking far past them and into her soul.

  “I think that’s already taken care of.”

  Dana and William embraced and joined their faces together again, intertwining their legs, growing warmer and more aroused. They embarked on the second of many more journeys they would take together, exploring each other’s bodies and lovingly pleasuring one another.

  ###

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  About the Author

  Erotic fiction author K.J. Diamond lives in the north, where long cold nights and cabin fever force her to find something sexy to do with her time.

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  Table of Contents

  Part 1: Meeting Alexander

  Part 2: Facing Alexander

  Part 3: Indulging Alexander

  Part 4: A Complicated Situation

  Part 5: An Irresistible Opportunity