Ensnared (The Accidental Billionaires #1)(24)
“The house next door,” I said. “I’ve always wondered what that monstrosity looked like inside. And I can’t believe you bought a vacation house just to stay in Citrus Beach for ten days.”
“It will make things easier if I’m close to you,” he said nonchalantly. “And the house is a good investment. Like it or not, Citrus Beach is growing, and the real-estate prices are picking up pretty quickly.”
I leaned against the counter as I tried to figure him out. “So you bought it as an investment?”
His eyes met mine, and his intent stare made heat sizzle down my spine. “No. I bought it so I could be close to you for ten days. It’s too small of a purchase for me to buy only as an investment. If I didn’t have a purpose for it, I wouldn’t have bothered,” he answered earnestly.
Jesus! I really hate it when he says things like he just wants to be close to me.
Eli Stone was an enigma. One moment he was the quintessential aloof billionaire, and the next he was bluntly honest.
I still didn’t know what to make of him and his ten-day challenge. But I swore I’d have him figured out by the time we parted ways.
I let out a nervous sigh. “I guess sometimes having money overwhelms me,” I admitted. “My sister, Brooke, says I have some kind of Sudden Wealth Syndrome.”
He nodded and finished off his coffee. “She’s right,” he answered. “I’ve seen it many times. Not all of my friends were born wealthy like I was, and I’ve seen people struggle to deal with getting rich too fast.”
“Really?” I asked hopefully. “Does it go away?”
“Not always,” he mused. “But you’ll be fine.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because you have me to help you get used to it, and you have a good head on your shoulders. I know it’s hard when friends abandon you, and you’re stuck in a whole new world. But I’ll help you, Jade.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why do you care?”
He shrugged. “Because I want to.”
“Because you still want to sleep with me?”
He grinned. “You know I have ulterior motives, but I really do want to help.”
He looked a little bit like a mischievous boy, and my heart did an enormous flip-flop.
Eli Stone was the hottest man I’d ever seen, hands down. And it was almost surreal that he was actually at my house having coffee like we’d known each other forever.
I emptied my mug as Eli stood and said, “I think our ride is here.”
I put my cup in the sink and joined him at the door.
There was a helicopter overhead, and an enormous yacht that was getting close to shore, but I didn’t see a car.
“Grab your clothes,” he instructed as he walked outside with Charlie at his heels.
I hastily grabbed my things and locked the door, speechless as I turned around to watch the helicopter landing on the beach.
Eli held out his hand, but I hesitated.
I got the fact that we were leaving in his helicopter, now that I could see the Stone logo on the side of the aircraft. I tried to push down the panic that started to rise, the overwhelming feeling that all of this was some kind of dream, and I’d wake up very shortly.
I didn’t fly in helicopters.
I didn’t do impulsive things.
And I certainly didn’t fly away to places yet unknown with a billionaire.
This wasn’t me.
I wasn’t me.
After I took a deep breath, I looked at Eli.
I shuddered as I got the sense that he was trying to tell me that my whole reality had changed, and it was time to get on with it.
“Trust me, Jade,” he yelled over the sound of the helicopter.
My heart squeezed in my chest. I’d been lost for the last few months, unsure of where I was going or what the hell I was doing.
I’d been isolated and uncertain, emotions that I’d never experienced before because I never took a risk or stepped outside of my academic comfort zone.
But I was so damn tired of feeling misplaced and disoriented.
I needed to be me again without the fear and the panic. I needed to adjust or risk feeling this way for the rest of my life, and I refused to go down that road.
It’s time for me to trust someone again. It’s time for me to find myself, money and all.
The excitement of becoming fearless made me reach for Eli’s hand.
As he pulled me toward the beach, I let my negative feelings drift away.
It was hard not to be happy when I was going to be spending my time with a very rich, hot guy, even if it was just for a little while.
CHAPTER 9
ELI
I probably should have warned Jade that we were headed out to board a megayacht that was waiting for us in deeper waters. But I had to admit that the look of surprise on her face was priceless when we landed on the upper level of the vessel. So I wasn’t suffering all that much from remorse.
I reached for her hand, and when she gave it to me, I felt like somebody had slammed me in the gut.
Maybe I wanted to screw Jade more than I’d ever wanted any other woman, but I was also fascinated by her. And the fact that she was trusting me was sort of humbling.
She stumbled as she exited the helicopter, and I definitely had no problem with the fact that she fell into my arms, her body plastered against mine like we were lovers.