“And after dinner, I can have you for dessert. I’ll make you come on the end of my tongue.”
“Dinner is fine, thanks,” I said, heat rising to my cheeks.
He grinned far too happily. I sighed and hurried up to catch him. Dinner would be appreciated. I called off work for this absurd charade. The least I deserved was a free meal.
As we headed back inside, Lucas was taken from me. Brent had to fill him in on something. “I'm sorry,” he said. He was led away. It would be an easy time to escape, but I didn't have the heart. I took a seat with the other ladies. Perhaps I dreaded meeting them more than Lucas did.
Their snacking had started, only bites of crackers and cheese while they relaxed on the couches, wine glasses in hand that they egregiously sipped.
It wasn’t a secret that I had been the topic of conversation. Their billionaire prize already walked away with another girl and hadn’t showed himself, hadn’t even made an introduction.
That made me a target.
An awkward silence abounded. The elegant blond with the fanciest dress broke it when she asked, “Are you a worker here or something?”
“No,” I shot back.
“Oh, I was thinking you were, since you’re not dressed up, and you were spending so much time with Lucas. What were you two doing?”
This girl was trying to get at me, but she was doing a bad job at it. Just having some uppity bitch like her coming at me, though, that got on my nerves, no matter what she said.
“She doesn’t have to kiss and tell,” another girl said, bright auburn hair in a bun with rosy cheeks, looking so adorable and sounding it too with her southern twang.
“There was no kissing,” I said. That wasn’t a total lie. There was a kiss. There weren’t multiple kisses. My clit beat in response. I shifted nervously. Multiple kisses...oh, how my body craved that.
“What do you do?” The blond adorned in jewels asked.
“What do you do?” I replied with venom. I didn’t expect her to do anything, except maybe model her jewelry.
There was another reason why I only parroted her. How could I tell these glamorous girls the truth? What did I do? Take care of my mother, was a frequent excuse, kind of true, but not the full truth. Should I tell this girl I had three jobs? Or would that only be met with a snort and chuckle?
“Let off her.”
A lanky, athletic brunette sat up and tossed a cracker into her mouth. It was the most threatening eating of a cracker I’d ever witnessed. My savior, I thought, but then I remembered that I needed no help in defending myself from these girls.
“My name’s Carla,” the tall one said, chewing on another piece of cracker and cheese. She had the fit of a particular Russian tennis player. They could’ve been twins.
“Nice to meet you,” I said. This girl was all right with me.
“Are you going to let us know what you were really doing with Lucas? It really isn't fair if we have people going against the group already,” the blond said, turning to the other girls, who were not quite as friendly as Carla. Eyes sharp as knives honed in on me.
This clearly wasn't for me.
Where was Lucas? He shouldn’t have left.
“What were you really doing with him?” she asked again, like some batshit crazy stalker of his. Best to let this one go first, Lucas, I thought as I rose, gathering myself, a twisting in my stomach alerting me that I was far too exhausted and famished to deal with snobby women.
I strode away confidently. She could keep asking questions to my back if she'd like. I heard her groan and call out to me, but by then, her voice was muffled, already far into the background.
Once I got to the door, my fingers lingered over the door knob. I wasn’t willing to leave quite yet. Lucas still deserved a proper goodbye.
Searching the same hallway which I'd first discovered him in, I spotted him, definitely not up to his knees in important business, unless you counted a hot, big breasted model about to jump his cock as important business. Maybe it was to him.
This girl, cleavage unbelievable, was on her toes, her hands exploring his forearms. Their bodies touched. My body revolted. A numbing defensive mechanism took hold, but I could tell I was shaking with rage as her lips pressed higher.
Lucas caught sight of me watching. He spun around as I did, but it was too late. I was already gone.
He screamed, “Tia,” and I heard the direness in his tone, capable of rattling me, but not stopping me.
Rage.
Then relief. Relief, I had dodged a bullet. A bullet with my name on it.
Lucas
She slipped away. Tearing away from the girl who had tried to kiss me, I threw open the door to catch her.
I needed to catch her, to tell her how much potential we would be throwing away for nothing. Girls threw themselves at me all the time. This was nothing new.
She would not get away from me.
Dusk had fallen; the front yard covered in grey. I feared what would happen if she decided to really run for it. My protectiveness of her took control, so strongly, that I needed to tell myself to contain my overwhelming possessiveness of this girl. You just met her. You're not her keeper. Calm down, Lucas, before you get yourself arrested for stalking the poor thing.
Tia didn’t get far.
Standing at the gates, dialing a number on her cell phone, she stomped her feet and waited for the gates to open.
“Tia, where are you going?”
I went for her arm. She pulled away. She turned to me while taking defensive steps back. Holding a hand up, she warned me not to come closer. I didn't listen.
“It meant nothing. She jumped me. I don't even know who she is. Girls are practically swinging from my cock twenty-four-seven. Will you please talk to me?”
Someone talked on the other line, probably the cab service, but she didn't respond.
“You can't leave.”
I broke through her one handed barrier. Perhaps that went over the line. It didn't matter. There would be no misunderstandings between us. No petty little differences.
“I can do whatever I want,” she said, her tone more threatening this time. Maybe even a little frightened.
Easing up, I threw my hands up and took a step back.
“She came onto me. Not the other way around. I don't just kiss girls like that. It's something special. Do you think she's what I want?”
“So it’s the kiss, huh? You won’t kiss them, but you’ll still put your dick in them?”
“I’m sorry it happened.”
To my surprise, she slipped her phone back in her purse. She actually smiled. There were no words to describe how happy that smile made me.
Tia posed on one hip. “You did look pretty unhappy about it. Okay, what if I told you I believe you?”
“Great,” I said. That was wonderful.
“But what if I also told you that I want to go home.” Her tone was solemn. How bittersweet. I just thought I won her over, getting her to come back for dinner, when it didn't even matter. It hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest, but I still remained standing. I regained focus.
This whole ordeal was overwhelming. Still, she couldn't leave. I couldn't let her give this up so easily. She had to understand that I wasn't the type who got off by manipulating women—oh wait...that was exactly who I was.
Around her, I had lost all sense of my true plan, to fuck this up royally for my father by making all the women hate me. Fuck them. Use them. Break their hearts.
Perhaps it was best if Tia got away from me. Put in those words, I sounded like a monster, a man who wasn't good enough for her.
“I understand,” I told her, the words heavy and hard to speak. Taking a few steps past her, I put my hand to the gate's scanner. They opened.
“You do?”
“I'll drive you home. Let me do that much. I can’t let you go alone.”
“Sure you can, I made it this far in life without you.”
“I’ll drive you. It’s the l
east I can do.”
She followed me to the front door.
“Wait here. I'll pick you up.”
I decided on something flashy, but not too flashy. Seeing her standing on my doorstep, waiting for me to pick her up, it seemed too perfect. I could get used to picking her up, protecting her, taking care of her.
Too late for that, it seemed. Tia told me where to go. Once she told me how far away it was, in San Diego, another blow of remorse struck me. What was worse, she wasn't living in a particularly safe part of San Diego.
I would have to see once I was there, but I had heard stories of that block. While some parts were going through a renaissance, I would have to see for myself, check and make sure. It put me on edge to think of her getting mixed up in some sort of violence.
Speaking of which...as we traveled on, we were both quiet, and I got to thinking about her predicament. What the hell was she doing there, anyway? She didn't seem like the type my father would pick.
“You can talk to me, you know,” she said. She perked up from resting her chin on her palm.
“Sorry, I thought I’d pissed you off.”
When did I ever apologize? I seemed to be apologizing a lot around Tia. Or at least trying to, like some Frankenstine’s monster of an apology.
“It's fine. Let's move past what happened. I believe you. She threw herself on you, which isn't hard to believe. You're a billionaire. They were sent there specifically to try to seduce you. It's not hard to believe at all.”
“Thanks for being understanding.” I meant it. It would be easy for her to use it as an excuse to leave. Did it even matter? She wanted to leave anyway.
She smiled at me, and once again, all my fears were erased, all my problems gone. Her big, loving eyes catching light and her beaming white smile stopped everything.
My eyes lingered down to her hands resting on her thighs. The way she had them curled on the edge of her dress got my dirty thoughts wandering.
I was sure once I had a taste of her, I would be unstoppable. My only purpose would be to give Tia as many orgasms as possible. I would pledge to fuck her until she screamed my name, until I claimed her and made her come countless times into the night. I wanted to make all of her dreams come true.
I really liked a woman with curves, and Tia’s curves were undeniable.
They were like a work of fucking art.
I focused on the road ahead.
“That's it? You're weird, Lucas. You're all over me, and now you're all dark and brooding. I said it's fine. You don't have to be a martyr now.”
“My apologies. I wasn't being a martyr. I was just thinking about something.”
Something which I couldn’t tell her.
Or maybe I should?
Should I tell her how much I want to be inside her?
“Thinking about what?”
Of course, she asked.
“Nothing.”
“Then why did you bring it up?”
I sighed. “You've got a way of breaking me down. You know that?”
“We already sound like a couple who are too good at arguing,” she said, but when I looked, she was already turned to the window, her hands bunched on her lap. She seemed to regret saying it.
“I hate bickering. I would prefer to spend what little days we have in this life not worrying about petty things, but cherishing what makes life worth living.”
“I'm sorry,” she said. She gave me this grim expression, her features all down and dour. She continued, “I think you're an all right guy, but we're from two different worlds. You've got to do this thing for your father. This absurd thing, where you're finding a marriage like you're in the 1300s with lords and fiefs. And I'm trying to do something different. A whole lot different. So…sorry.” She trailed off to a long sigh.
“Don’t break up with me, princess. We still can have a little fun on the side.”
“I’ve got more respect for myself than that.”
“Too bad. Respect is overrated. And what the hell does that mean, anyway? Do you lose respect for fucking when you want to fuck?”
“Just not with you. Sorry.”
But I could tell by the way she hid that she wanted me.
She was wet.
Getting wetter. Fuck, did I ever want her.
We traveled through the city, going to an area which looked like it might be going through a renaissance. There were fresh produce markets with some areas left open for city gardening, but then we turned off, and we were close to her street in City Heights. It didn’t look as revitalized.
It took everything in my power not to open my mouth and offer her a room to sleep at my place.
Okay, maybe it took everything to keep my mouth shut.
“This is it here,” she said. She was real on edge, her hand resting on the handle like she was getting ready to jump out.
She pointed to a two story house, which looked like one of the better ones in the neighborhood. My heart sank when I noticed the bars on her windows.
“Are you sure I can't interest you in dinner?”
She gave my thigh a pat. I assumed it was supposed to be a friendly gesture, but once she touched me, her hand recoiled as if touching a hot stove.
Too hot for you, babe?
“I'm sure. Thanks for everything. It's been an interesting evening. And the weirdest job interview I've ever had,” she said, fingers curling on the door handle.
“Job interview?”
“Yeah, they told me that this would be an opportunity. I thought it was a job.”
Oh, fuck. I looked at Tia with the rundown neighborhood in the background. I felt like that monster that I tried to convince myself I wasn't. It was time to be realistic. I was a spoiled billionaire. I was a man who had done nothing for others. I was only concerned with pleasure. I was a glutton. A monster who tried to pretend they were sympathetic, when my actions were anything but.
“I'm sorry. I didn't know they did that. Are you sure I can't try to make it up to you in any way? Tia, I don't want this to be the last time I see you. Don’t be afraid.”
Afraid was the wrong word.
Really it was the wrong word. Her nose scrunched up. She clawed for the handle and popped the door open.
“I'm not afraid. This is wrong. What happened between us was wrong.”
She was lying. Except she seemed convinced, and she was leaving, taking a step out of the car, leaving as fast as possible.
So this was the end?
Fair enough. It was what I was used to. Disappointment felt comfortable. Nothing real like her was possible. She was right. Different worlds and never should they meet.
“Don't,” I yelled.
She slammed the door in my face.
Watching her perfect ass sway away, I wistfully sighed and said so long. That was one fine woman leaving me, but what could I do? I did my best.
As I drove away, peeling out and hitting the gas, wanting to feel alive again, I didn't believe that this would be the end.
This couldn't be the end.
It would take every ounce of willpower to keep me from Tia.
One kiss hadn’t been enough.
Chapter 5
Tia
I had a secret billionaire admirer. Me....with a secret billionaire...it was absurd.
Was Lucas still waiting? Sneaking a look would alert my mother. It was best not to tell her of my secret billionaire. Her reaction wouldn’t help me forget him.
Wobbling, her body resisting as she attempted to stand, she managed to plant her walker. She began to walk toward me with it, but I waved her back. It might annoy me when she did that, but it was good to be home, someplace safe, where I knew I could think without any of Lucas’s distractions.
“Mom, sit down. Please,” I begged.
Like usual, she didn’t listen. I took a seat on the beat-up Craigslist couch and she dropped back in her recliner. Everything in the place didn't match. Cramped, the only wall furnishings were the crosses and religious painti
ngs which my mother would never replace. The only view was from the slight break in the shades from our tiny barred window.
In far contrast to Lucas's mansion, our apartment was sweltering. I wanted to change right away into shorts and a tank top. Maybe a cool blast from the shower would help me forget Lucas’s kiss that my body still refused to forget.
“Tell me all about it. I want to hear everything,” my mother said.
Yes, I lived with my mother. No, it wasn't as pathetic as you're thinking. Okay, it's still pathetic, and I hated it, but it was understandable. We were both buried in debt. Not from poor choices, which made it more understandable, I hoped.
Seven years ago, my mother was hit by a drunk driver. Then hefty hospital bills. Most of the hospital stay was paid for by the driver, who by the way didn't go to jail, because he was rich and could afford the best lawyers and protection from the judge.
Rehabilitation wasn't covered. It sucked our reserves, until I had to get another job to help out, and eventually quit University of Santa Barbara, which in turn, resulted in debt on my part.
It also didn't help that I was struggling to make ends meet day to day with three jobs. Are you beginning to understand my disdain for the wealthy, who could get by without a lick of work?
“It was a bust,” I replied, focused straight ahead at the TV. My mother promptly turned it off.
“What do you mean?” My mother almost threw her walker out the window.
If only Lucas could see her reaction. If he thought I was bad...
I crossed my legs and leaned back. “No opportunity, but it was interesting, to say the least.”
“You're going to need to tell more,” my mother shouted.
“Fine, I'm going to tell you, but you need to calm down. I just got in the door.”
I continued after a long sigh, “It's complicated. I would rather not get into it right now. How are you feeling, Mom?”
She rocked forward. When she did, a sharp pain struck her and she flinched, and I did as well, like I could feel her pain. That's how it always went. The accident put her into a coma, had given her mild brain damage, and walking was difficult. Every day for my mother was a struggle.
Lucas (A Billionaire Bad Boy Novel) Page 4
