The Billionaire Game(23)

“And yours aren’t like this,” he said slowly, nodding as he looked over the samples I had spread on the bed. He ran his fingers down a triangle of embroidered silk, his brows knitting together thoughtfully.

“Hell no,” I shot back. “I take my time. I get accurate measurements, and I use materials that feel good against your skin. So my stuff costs more? Well, it damn well should, because it’s special. It’s not some trick I play on women—it’s a real luxury, that makes a real impact, and the price reflects that.” I grabbed at a metaphor. “A minivan would be more practical than that spaceship you’ve grafted onto a Porsche. So why you do drive it?”

“Because it’s better,” he said, understanding dawning in his eyes as slowly and beautifully as the rising sun. “It handles better, it’s faster, it’s more beautiful. It makes me feel better to have it. It costs more…but it feels worth it.”

“Exactly!” I said.

“Your product is high-end, designer,” Asher went on, the words coming more rapidly now, his eyes lighting up as the ideas began to pour in. He leapt up and grabbed for my hands, a grin splitting his face: “You want a smaller market, a higher price, to be exclusive!”

Ding ding ding we have a winner, give the boy a medal and a microwave oven and an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii, were the words that I had been planning to have come out of my mouth.

But then I felt the warmth of his hands on mine.

And then I felt the warmth of his breath, panting with excitement, against my skin.

And then I looked deep into those brilliant green eyes, lit up with passion and intensity…

…and I remembered that I was in my bra and panties, alone in a room with a man so hot it was a wonder he didn’t spontaneously combust, and I couldn’t remember a single reason why I wasn’t supposed to kiss him.

Asher’s eyes darkened, pupils dilating as his hand traced up the suddenly tingling skin of my bare arm, and I knew that he couldn’t think of any reasons either.

He leaned forward, the silk of his shirt rustling, the crisp clean smell of his sweat making me clench my thighs together in desire, and I couldn’t let him kiss me, if he kissed me he would win, he would get what he wanted, what he’d assumed was just his for the taking—

And so I kissed him instead.

He grabbed my hips and pulled me into him, growling against my mouth as he kissed me back with a furious need. I bit at his lips, demanding entry, and his tongue teased at my own. My breath caught in my throat as his hand began tracing a line along my abdomen up to my breasts, ghosting lightly over the sheer fabric of my cheap department store lingerie. My nipples hardened and I felt a flush spread over my chest, my skin burning with the need to touch his.

I could feel his hard cock pressed against my thigh as he ground into me, and my own hands slipped down across the powerful muscles of his back to grip the perfectly formed globes of his ass and pull him closer. He groaned, squeezing my breast with one hand as his other slid around to my back, playing with the clasp of my bra, pulling just hard enough to almost snap it loose.

I was wet with desire, and I reached up to tangle one hand in his hair and kiss him harder, as my other hand slipped under his waistband, closing around and stroking the thick length of his cock—God, it was perfect, and he was moaning now and I wanted to suck him, to lick around the head and take him all the way down my throat until he forgot every word in the English language except my name, rocking his hips gently against my mouth as his fist tightened in my hair, as my deft fingers teased across his balls, as my cunt clenched in anticipation, as—

Police sirens went off in my head and I pulled away with a gasp, stumbling backwards out of his reach and hopefully out of reach of the sexy force-field he exuded. Asher’s eyes were locked on mine, hazy with lust as he reached down to unbuckle his belt. I felt my knees, and my resolve, weakening beneath me.

I had to stop this.



What we had just done was a mistake. A fun, sexy mistake, but not one that I could let continue. Because it was obvious he’d been playing me all along. This wasn’t about business at all, or investing in my company, or seeing me as anything other than his next temporary plaything, a plaything that I’d just mindlessly and idiotically offered myself up as.

God, sometimes I hate being a responsible adult.

“Stop.”

Asher froze, mid belt-fumble, his brow creased in puzzlement. It looked adorable, and he was rumpled and disheveled and God but I still wanted to jump his bones. “Kate—”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” I said, and I was proud of how steady my voice sounded. Calm and cool, like I was actually in a business meeting, and hadn’t just been making out half-naked with my former potential investor. Like you do. “But I’m not going to make you millions. This meeting is over. We can’t do business.”

Asher looked like a kid who had been told that the Tooth Fairy was going on vacation and wouldn’t be making any house calls. “But—”

“We’re obviously not a good fit. I’ll find someone else. Thank you for your time.”

I pushed him out the door, and he stumbled, wrong-footed, looking confused. It was a cute look on him. He’d probably do it even more if I grabbed his hand, pulled him back in and onto the bed, leapt astride him and—

Whoa, Katie. Hold your horses and your hormones. Business first, remember? And Mr. Asher Young has conclusively proven that he is not interested in doing with you that which does not involve your ladyparts.