Royal Heir (Westerly Billionaire #3)(11)
Another man might have withheld the truth about why he was there. Only the weak hid behind lies. What Rachelle thought of his reason for being there or what her brother felt about doing appearances would not change the outcome. She will be mine. Success in life didn’t come from asking oneself if something was possible, but rather determining how far a person was willing to go to make it happen.
Unfortunately for Westerly, Magnus had royal immunity in most countries and a reputation for not being afraid to test the boundaries of it. Magnus would give Westerly one more chance to agree before he coerced him. Every man should be allowed an opportunity to do things the easy way.
After that, Magnus would change Westerly’s mind in a less pleasant way. He’d already isolated two of Westerly’s weak points—Rachelle, and an obsession with privacy. People didn’t hide unless they had something they didn’t want the public to see. Magnus would discover what it was, and he’d use the connection to the woman next to him as leverage to get that information if he needed to. He’d told her as much, and she was free to walk away.
She wouldn’t, though. Even before he’d heard her describe him to her friend, he’d known she wanted him. Part of her beauty was how expressive her eyes were. Everything she felt was right there for the world to see—innocently unprotected.
If he were in London to kill her brother, he might have felt some remorse about involving her. However, shaking the shit out of Westerly’s life until he agreed to meet with a sick child might actually be considered one of the nicest things Magnus had ever done. In the end, Rachelle would likely thank him. It was obvious she cared more for her brother than he cared for her. When Magnus finally did go head-to-head with Westerly, he’d address that issue as well. Family and duty defined a man. Prancing around in a cape and pretending to have the powers of a microscopic bug was pathetic, even if it was financially lucrative. That man needed to be woken up to what mattered in life.
He glanced at Rachelle and was taken once again by her soft beauty. “I intend to speak to your brother once more before I leave tonight. It’s your choice whether you are at my side as I do so.”
She expelled a harsh breath. “Of course it’s my choice. Do you know how impossibly full of yourself you sound?”
He smiled. He liked her spirit. “Do you know what I love about Americans?”
She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“Your arrogance.”
“I’m arro—I’m arrogant? Really?”
Her outrage was so adorable he almost kissed her, but they were still very much in the public eye. “You barely know who I am or my thoughts on retaliation, and yet you’ve already swung at me out of anger.”
“Are you saying you’re planning to hit me back?”
He laughed at the horror in her eyes. “I don’t hit women.”
She looked suddenly irritated with him. “I wouldn’t be surprised to hear you did.”
He leaned over and tucked her long hair behind her ear, then whispered, “I’d rather have them beg me than fear me.”
Even in the darkness of the movie theater, he could see the blush darken her cheeks. “I’m sure that line works with some women, but I’m not impressed.”
“There it is—the arrogance that makes me wish we were alone right now. You are deliciously irreverent. I will enjoy teaching you how to speak more respectfully.”
“Respect isn’t something you teach—it’s something you earn.”
He leaned closer and whispered, “Then I will earn it one mind-blowing orgasm at a time. Just as I will allow you to do with me.”
She licked her bottom lip before saying, “Listen, I don’t care what you heard me say to my friend. I’m not interested. Call it arrogant or simply call it intelligent, but I’m not going to have sex with you.”
“Then why are you still beside me?” he growled in challenge.
She turned to look him in the eye. “Because I don’t trust you. I will be there tonight when you talk to Eric, but I won’t be on your side. I’ll be on his. If you were honest about—”
“I don’t lie—”
“I don’t know that. I don’t know you. But if there really is a little boy named Finn who is hoping to meet Eric . . .”
“There is.”
“I’ll help you explain the situation to Eric.” She gave Magnus a long look. “He’ll say yes once he hears the whole story. You don’t have to threaten me or pretend you’re interested to get me to help you. Eric would have already agreed if it had been presented to him differently.”
“I have no doubt about that,” Magus said, dismissing her brother before addressing something else she said. “I would normally wait, but for the sake of clarification—” He cupped her chin and guided her forward, claiming her mouth with his.
He’d intended the kiss to be brief and reassuring, but her lips parted for his in an invitation he couldn’t refuse. The heat that shot through him nearly made him forget where they were. The taste of her, the feel of her tongue tentatively dancing with his, was driving him wild. He wanted more. Needed more.
He broke off the kiss while he still had the fortitude to keep his hands from sliding beneath the thin material of her dress and exploring those pert breasts of hers, those tight little buds that had been teasing him all night. When he raised his head, her ragged breath matched his. “There is nothing fake about that.”