Ensnared (The Accidental Billionaires #1)(27)

“You won’t screw up. And if you do, you learn from the things you do wrong. You’re a smart woman, Jade. You need to give yourself credit and not be intimidated by the money. Once you settle in with it, there’s so much you can do as a philanthropist. Everything changes when you realize you can help make the world a better place in some way or another. I think that’s what really gets me up every single morning.”

“I guess I never thought about that.”

“Being privileged comes with responsibility if you’re a decent person. I want to make a difference. Lots of wealthy people can and do.”

She looked at me with a hopeful expression in her gorgeous eyes. “I think I’d feel better if I was doing something to help change the world. Can you help me?”

Her pleading tone almost tore the heart out of my chest, even though I’d just reminded myself of where I should be in my relationship with Jade. I was pretty sure she could ask me to jump off a cliff and fall to my death using that entreating voice, and I’d do it if I could see her happy.

I’m not exactly achieving my damn objective here.

But removing myself from Jade’s emotions suddenly felt nearly impossible.

“Anything you want, Butterfly,” I answered.

“I want to learn about investments. And the stock market. I want to understand how to fund-raise so I can make a difference, too. And I want to find the best conservation programs to use to donate grants for research. There are so many great projects out there, Eli. I never thought about it, but I can help other postdoc conservationists find a place to do their work.”

“It will take some time,” I warned her. “You’re not going to learn everything in a week.”

Hell, I knew I’d teach her every single thing she wanted to know. It would keep her hanging around in my life a little bit longer.

I’m not into anything long term.

Fuck! Why was I having such a difficult time remembering that?

She lifted a brow. “It’s not like I’m incredibly busy, especially since you bought out my classes, even after our ten days are over.”

“We’ll start by going over some things every morning. And then you can come to San Diego and unofficially be my intern in my offices if you want. It’s probably the fastest way to learn the most.”

Damn! I hadn’t planned on keeping a door open after I’d had my fill of Jade’s body. But I’d just committed to much more than I’d planned.

“That would be amazing,” she agreed immediately. “I’ll have some survival classes, and I might get a few interviews if I’m lucky, but I’ll be there every day that I’m not busy. I’d love the chance to learn from you.”

Holy shit! I can think of a whole lot more personal things I’d rather teach her than business. What in the hell am I doing?

I knew I was losing control of the entire relationship between me and Jade.

None of this was part of the plan.

But somehow every detail of the temporary arrangement I’d envisioned was morphing into a different deal altogether.

I couldn’t be Jade’s friend.

And I sure as hell never wanted to exactly be her mentor, unless it involved both of us getting naked.

This entire ten-day bargain had been a ruse to get my dick exactly where it wanted to be. Sure, I didn’t mind teaching her what I could along the way. As long as we ended up lovers, too.

I watched as she stood up and lifted the T-shirt she was wearing over her head.

Her intention to swim was obvious, but I almost groaned as she reached for the button on her jeans.

Jade had a beautiful body. She was in peak physical shape and perfectly proportioned.

Everything about the woman undressing in front of me was fucking tempting. And I felt like I was about to lose it as she kicked off her jeans and tossed them into the chair.

When she reached for her ponytail and released a mass of mesmerizing dark hair, I gritted my teeth.

“Are you coming?” she asked with what I interpreted as a come-hither smile, but probably wasn’t meant to be.

My eyes devoured her. Her suit was a black, modest one-piece, but the way it clung to her body almost sent me over the edge.

“I’d like to,” I grumbled to myself as I stood. And I wasn’t talking about going for a swim.

She raced to the edge of the deep end and executed a perfect dive into the water.

I had to force myself to focus on getting my jeans off so I could join her.

I was relieved when I finally got into the water, wishing it was a lot colder than the lukewarm temperature that the heater maintained.

Charlie howled, and before I could stop him, he hurled himself into the pool and made a beeline for Jade. She fussed over him, crooning sweet things to the canine when he reached her.

I couldn’t get mad at Charlie.

If I was a dog, I would have done exactly the same thing to get that kind of attention from Jade.





CHAPTER 10

JADE



A few days later, I realized I was actually beginning to like having Eli Stone as my neighbor.

Honestly, I was starting to like him, and that was going to cause an enormous problem for me.

We hit the beach for a jog every morning, and I was starting to really love having his company. I usually went alone every morning, or one of my brothers tagged along on rare occasions.