Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(28)

Had Analyn’s ex decided he wanted her back? Maybe he realized what an idiot he’d been to let her go, so he’d shown up, and when she told him she'd moved on, he'd tried to force her.

Realizing I was letting my mind get the best of me, I shut the door behind her. "Can I take your coat?"

She clutched her lapels closer and gave me a sheepish smile that was adorable. I desperately wanted to wrap her up in my arms and comfort her.

"I'd rather keep it on. And I'm sorry again to just show up like this, but I couldn't stay in my apartment for another moment. I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go."

"I'm glad you came here. How about we go to the living room, and we can sit and talk? Do you want some tea or something to warm up?"

"No, thank you." She looked down to her fidgeting fingers. "I shouldn't have come, but—"

"It's fine, Analyn. Come on. I’ll show you to the living room." I led her from the foyer through the double doors into the elaborate space called the living room. I had the requisite furniture, but again, I had anticipated having a wife who might want to decorate, so it was fairly sparse except for the couch, the side tables, and a couple of throw rugs. It did have a fireplace, and I thought maybe I should light a fire to help her warm up.

As I made my way across the room, I heard her yelp, and as I turned, she fell to the floor.

Good Christ, was something wrong with her?

As I rushed to her, I saw a throw rug bunched around her feet and realized she must've tripped.

She dropped her head, letting out a laugh, and I was relieved that she was okay.

As I reached her to help her up, I noted that there wasn’t much to whatever she wore under the coat as there was a great deal of bare leg. My dick immediately took notice. Traitor.

I helped her up and led her to a chair.

She sat down, shaking her head, still laughing, though not necessarily with humor. "I have the worst luck in the world."

I sat on the couch across from her, linking my fingers together to prevent me from getting up and going over to take her into my arms. "Oh? How's that?"

"When I came to Las Vegas, I moved in with my best friend. She's the one who encouraged me to move out here."

I smiled even though there was a part of her statement that stung. She hadn’t moved out here for me.

I shook the thought away, calling myself an idiot. Of course, she didn't move here for me. If she had, we’d be together.

"Anyway, her boyfriend finally proposed to her tonight, and she is on cloud nine. She ran out to get more champagne to celebrate, and while she was gone, he propositioned me."

My fingers tensed. "Propositioned?"

She nodded, her eyes wide in surprise. "You know, like he wanted me to have sex with him right then and there. While his fiancée was out getting champagne."

Her shocked expression morphed into anger. “I told him no, and he turned into a total asshole, acting like I should be so lucky to have a guy like him want to screw me."

I’ll kill him.

She let out a breath and sagged back into the chair. "I was a coward. I didn't know what to do. So, I just grabbed my coat and purse and ran out. I know I have to tell her. I just couldn't get my brain to work right. And then I ended up here."

"Did he touch you?" My mind kept going back to the part where she said he’d propositioned her. What the fuck did that mean?

She stared at me and blinked. "What?"

My jaw tightened as the image of another man putting his hands on Analyn made my blood boil. "Did he touch you?"

She cocked her head to the side, and I realized that perhaps this wasn't the reaction I was supposed to have. But right or wrong, I was connected to Analyn, and another man touching her wasn't something I could deal with.

"He put his hands on my hips and tried to nuzzle my neck." She shuddered like a bug or snake had touched her. “But I got away from him, and then he turned mean, so I left."

I remembered how at one point, I thought that Analyn and I could be friends since we couldn’t be lovers. Or more. This was my opportunity to show her that we could still be in each other's orbit without the sex.

Instead of acting like a jealous, possessive jerk, though, I needed to respond differently. "Under the circumstances, you can stay here, if you'd like. It appears you're already in your pajamas, and I have extra toothbrush and toothpaste." It didn't escape me that I didn't mention I had a guest room. In fact, I had several. I suppose deep down inside, I hoped she would stay in my room.

It took her a moment, but finally, she nodded. "I can't go home, and I don't really want to go to a hotel."

Deciding I needed to be gallant, I said, "If you'd rather go to a hotel, I'll take you and pay for it. Whatever you feel most comfortable with." I knew her staying the night at my house, if found out, would make people talk about the things she was trying to avoid.

She closed her eyes, scrubbing her hands over her face, looking so tired. Again, I had to resist the urge to get up and put her in my lap to make all her worries go away.

"I think I’d like to stay here, if that's okay." She stood up and unbuttoned her coat.

I did my damnedest to look uninterested as she slipped the coat off, revealing she was wearing a tank top and shorts and nothing else but the slippers. My blood ran like liquid fire, but I rolled my shoulders, reining in my libido.