The Billionaire's Bet

  “Briana, my favorite hostess. How are you, darling?”

  I pushed back from my desk and smiled warmly. “Hey, Earl. I'm good, how are you?”

  I'd seen him only an hour before when I said hello to him on my way in from escorting some guests around the hotel, but the fact that he was starting off with idle chitchat told me he was feeling particularly chipper today.

  “I'm splendid, doll. You look extra yummy today. Looking to score with some of the guests?” He winked.

  I rolled my eyes. He was one of those older middle-aged men who'd never really understood why this sort of teasing and crude talk could ever be taken as sexual harassment. He never truly crossed the line, and he never treated women like they were stupid. As long as he never expected me to join in, I was fine with deflection and ignoring him.

  “Nope, this is just what I wanted to wear to work,” I said with a mild laugh. “What can I do for you?”

  He leaned against the wall and folded his arms over his chest. “I've got to hand it to you, kid. You've done even better than I hoped.”

  “Thanks.” A genuine smile crossed my lips. I had a feeling this conversation was going somewhere that would be good for me.

  “After the holiday rush,” he continued, “I'd like you to start preparing to take over the VP position officially. I've told Isa, and she's told me in no uncertain terms that you were her top choice. Since the promotion isn't official yet, I can't have you start screaming it from the rafters, but that being said, you can safely start taking measurements for her office.”

  My whole body felt like an electric current was running just under my skin. I'd been expecting the promotion, but actually hearing the words come from his mouth was something different entirely.

  “Thank you!” While those two words seemed inadequate for what I felt, I repressed the urge to jump up from my desk. If I did, I was afraid he might try to hug me or something. That would be a surefire way to put a damper on things.

  He tipped an imaginary hat to me and winked again. “I want to be clear that this was something I'd been considering even before this afternoon.”

  I frowned. “What happened this afternoon?”

  As far as I knew, there hadn't been anything extraordinary about the guests I'd assisted today. I'd taken a difficult call from a dissatisfied guest I'd managed to bring around with the offer of a complimentary night's stay, but that was hardly groundbreaking in terms of hostessing, much less the VP job.

  He laughed one of those belly shaking laughs that had always made me think of Santa Claus. “As if you didn't know that Dorian Gianelli checked back in this afternoon.”

  With that, he turned and left my office, his implication hanging in the air between us. Earl thought I'd slept with Dorian. I mean, I had slept with Dorian, but that was beside the point...

  Wait – Dorian was back?

  The news hit me like a fist to the chest.

  Dorian was back.

  My entire body flushed with anticipation, my heart skipping a beat, and I immediately snatched my phone from my purse. No texts. No missed calls.

  Feeling dumb, I tossed my phone back into my purse. Of course, there were no texts or missed calls from Dorian. What was I thinking? What happened between us was business at the least, a friendly fling at the most. We’d had a nice time together, but that was that. And it didn’t matter that he was here now.

  I had work to do. He probably had work to do. That was why he was here. It was enough that he'd kept his word about staying here the next time he was in the city. I just had to remind myself of that. If he was here for me, he would have already gotten in touch with me...wouldn’t he?

  I put my head down and got back to work. I couldn’t spend the rest of my day waiting by the phone for Dorian Gianelli to waltz back into my life. I had far more important things to think about. Like the job I'd be moving up to soon. Being a good mother. Being a good friend.

  Twenty minutes later, my phone rang. I nearly jumped out of my seat at the sound, then nearly dropped the damn thing fumbling it out of my bag. I expected that after all that fuss it would turn out to be a survey or something equally benign. But when I saw that the number on the screen was blocked, my heart skipped a beat. It couldn’t be him, could it?

  “Hello?” I tried to sound calm, like my heart wasn’t racing twenty million miles a minute.

  “Hey,” said a smooth, male voice. Dorian’s voice. “Miss me?”

  More than I care to admit, I pictured myself saying. I’ve been thinking about you almost nonstop. It’s really become quite a problem.

  But what I actually said was, “Miss who?”

  Dorian may not have been able to see the mischievous grin on my face, but he undoubtedly heard the teasing tone of my voice.

  “Oh, my apologies. I must have the wrong number. I’ll hang up now.”

  “No!” I shouted, thrusting my hand out in the air as if it could actually stop him from hanging up. I knew he was joking, but that didn’t temper my nerves any.

  His deep laugh sent tendrils of warmth to my core. “You were doing so well for a moment there. You nearly had me.”

  “And you me,” I replied. “I heard you’d checked back in. What brings you back to our little one-horse town?” Before he could answer – or I could make a bigger fool of myself with another cliché – I added, “And is there something I can get for you?”

  I didn’t want him to think I was reading something into the call that wasn't there. I figured it was best to put a professional foot forward, in light of the fact that we hadn’t spoken since that day in the airplane. I told myself that he was just being friendly. Just like anyone else would be.

  “I’m in the penthouse,” he replied. “Can you come up?”

  I noticed he chose not to answer either of my questions.

  I glanced over at my emails. All but one had been answered. It would only take me another few minutes to reply to it, but my feet were already itching to get out the door. I needed to see him. Technically, my shift ended shortly, but knowing that I was getting the VP position, I needed to show flexibility.

  “I can head up now,” I said.

  “Good. See you soon.”

  It only took a few minutes to shut things down in my office and send off a text to Tiffany asking if she could watch Mikala a little longer. I was already in the elevator when I got her response, and while it should have given me one less thing to worry about, all it did was make me call into question whether or not I was doing this for work...or for me.

  Then I was knocking on the door to the hotel’s one penthouse suite.

  But as soon as he appeared in the doorway, all my worries and insecurities fell away like a well-worn coat. Even though I'd memorized his face, I felt like I was seeing him again for the first time. I hadn’t, however, forgotten the way his smile made me feel like my insides were composed of lava.

  He opened the door wordlessly and gestured for me to come inside. I did, trying to steady my breathing when all my lungs wanted to do was hyperventilate and not stop until I passed out.

  I turned to him as he closed the door, mouth open to ask why he wanted to meet me. But I didn’t get the chance. The second the door closed, Dorian had me in his arms. He tugged me tightly against his chest and slammed his mouth down on mine, until I was surrounded by his heat and scent. I didn’t just lean into him, I melted. My body sought out his, molding to it, my breasts flattened against his muscular chest. His tongue coaxed my lips open, and when they did, he claimed my mouth with the sort of urgency that left me breathless.

  I was dizzy from lust and a lack of oxygen, but I could still think.

  Somewhat.

  I knew I should pull away. I knew that giving in to Dorian and the demands of my body wasn’t what I’d come up there to do. Not consciously, anyway. I'd come here to talk to him professionally, see what it was he wanted. But all that fell away as he slid his hand between my legs, pushing my skirt up with it. I shuddered at his touch, moaning
as he bit my bottom lip.

  Fuck it.

  To hell with professional.

  23

  Dorian

  Nothing was going according to the plan I'd come up with while debating the best way to approach Briana. I should have expected this kind of outcome, considering the fact that nothing had ever been simple where Briana was concerned. I shouldn’t have let myself be intrigued by her. I shouldn’t have slept with her.

  And I definitely shouldn’t have fallen for her.

  I also probably shouldn’t have kissed her right when she walked through the door, either. But what could I do when she showed up looking like she did? Those gorgeous waves pulled up in a messy up-do. Eyes lined in black, just enough to make them impossible to miss. Her sundress was simple but suited her perfectly.

  I was powerless the moment she walked through the door.

  I didn’t know where I wanted things to go with Briana. What I did know was that I wanted her. Only she could satisfy this gnawing hunger I'd felt from the moment she walked away from me at the airport. And now that I had her in my sights again, I was damn well going to take the shot.

  I ravaged her mouth, all my pent-up energy begging to be released. Her mouth tasted like heaven, and her body felt like sin. Appropriate considering where we were. Having her curl up against me the second our lips met had been a delightful surprise. I'd almost expected her to push me away. We hadn't talked or texted since I left, and I knew the way we'd left things had implied a desire to leave all our interactions in the past. I knew we'd be having a chat before the night was through, but I couldn't wait to feel her again until then.

  My hands raked up her sides and cupped her tits through her dress. She moaned and pressed into my hands. Fuck, she was gorgeous.

  And for right now, she was mine.

  I hiked up the skirt of her dress to her hips and lifted her against the wall. Her legs wrapped around me, and I pressed her against the wall to keep her in place. Damn, I loved being able to hold her like this, feel her wrapped around me. She ground herself against my swollen cock, sending a bolt of pure fire through me. It was like no time at all had passed, and we were picking up right where we left off. If anything, my desire for her had only grown in her absence.

  I trailed kisses from her mouth to her collarbone, settling in to lick and suck at the base of her throat. She responded with a delicious moan that sent shivers of pleasure through me. I bit gently but firmly and drew another moan from her throat. I'd forgotten how turned on her little gasps and whimpers made me, and I tried to commit them to memory now, just in case. Because I knew that no other noises would ever make me feel quite like this. Her pleasure was my pleasure.

  I gave a pleased growl when I saw the mark I left, then took her mouth again before she could scold me for it. I buried my hands in her hair, completely destroying the style and not feeling bad about it at all. I rocked against her, tearing my lips away from hers to curse. She flung her head back so quickly that it smacked against the wall.

  “Shit,” she muttered, chuckling.

  I laughed and straightened, holding her tight ass in my hands to keep her steady. “You okay?”

  “I'm fine. No more talking.” Her mouth descended on mine again.

  I was only too happy to oblige. We could talk later.

  Much, much later.

  I walked with her to the bedroom, hoping I didn't stumble over anything on the way. I wasn't familiar with the layout of the room yet, and navigating it with a woman wrapped around me was no easy task. When I made it to the room, I celebrated by flinging her onto the bed and taking a moment to look at the woman I'd missed too fucking much.

  She stared back at me, chest rising sharply with each inhale. Her eyes were dark, cheeks flushed, and lips parted. Her clothes were rumpled, giving me a glimpse of a pair of pastel panties that matched the sea-foam green of her dress.

  I wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked. How perfect she looked. But she said no more talking, and I didn't think it would be wise anyway, laying things out like that. So I stripped off my shirt and covered her body with mine again.

  Now that I didn't have to hold her up, I was free to slip a hand between us to feel the heat of her pussy through the damp cotton of her panties. She arched her hips toward me, and I couldn't resist slipping a finger into her wetness, drawing out another delightful gasp. She moaned against my mouth as I drove my fingers into her. From the way she was shaking, I knew I could get her off with just my hand. That realization made my cock hard enough to hurt.

  I didn't want to wait to get her naked. I needed to be inside her. Just as I grabbed a condom from my back pocket, she surprised me by pushing my shoulders in an attempt to get me on my back. I was more than happy to roll over, struck by the vision of her riding me. She yanked open my pants, tugging them and my boxers down low enough to get my cock free. My own hands were busy under her dress, moving over all the soft skin I couldn't see. As she rolled the latex over my erection, I found her breasts.

  She raised up on her knees, letting her dress trail over me as she moved until she was straddling my waist. My eyes rolled back in my head as she began to lower herself onto me. Inch by painfully slow inch, she took me into her body.

  “So good,” she breathed the words out as her head fell back, hair tumbling over her shoulders in the single most erotic thing I'd seen...today anyway.

  I gritted my teeth, hands fisting in the bedspread. Everything about her was unhurried as she alternated short, back-and-forth rolls of her hips with fluid up-and-down movements. Her eyes were squeezed tight in concentration, mouth slightly open, palms flattening on my stomach before digging her nails into my muscles.

  She felt so good, so hot and wet and perfect. And though I normally preferred to take the lead in bed, I couldn't deny the appeal of watching her bring herself pleasure with my body, how she was consumed by the moment. When her eyes opened, I knew she wasn't just putting on a show for me like other women had. Aside from my missing shirt, we were both still clothed, and there was something so sensual about our bodies being locked together so intimately even though we couldn't see it.

  When she started to bounce, I gripped her hips, unable to keep still any longer. Together, we set a fervent pace. I started thrusting up against her, our bodies connecting with such power that I wondered if we'd be bruised. I didn't care, and if her moans were any indication, neither did she. They grew in volume, echoing through the bedroom. I could tell she was getting close, and I had the best seat in the house to watch it happen.

  Her hands covered mine and squeezed. She was both stabilizing herself and communicating that I should go harder. Faster. Do whatever it took to bring her to an earth-shattering climax. I was pretty close to my own, and seeing her give the power back over to me like that was all I needed.

  I sat up, wrapping an arm around her as I pulled her down hard enough to make her cry out. I set the pace now, my muscles burning as I brought out bodies together over and over. My eyes locked with hers, and even though neither of us spoke, I could feel something between us connecting.

  I bent her body backward, one hand sliding from her back, around her hip, to find her clit. I rubbed at it, increasing the pressure until, with a keening wail, she clenched around me. Still, I continued pounding into her, my balls tense, the pressure inside me ready to explode. Her head fell forward onto my shoulder as a second orgasm followed immediately on the heels of the first. I felt it all, her body squeezing mine where we joined, the shudders of pleasure going through her.

  My orgasm hit me all at once, and I came so hard that I saw fucking stars. I could barely breathe, barely think. Everything was about her and us, and nothing else in the world mattered while we were together like this.

  I released her, and she rolled to the side, both of us panting as we waited for our pulses to slow.

  She moved first, barely looking at me. “I have to go.”

  I thought we were going to talk things out, but I didn't want to push
her right now. Even if I had been able to get up and follow her.

  That was okay though, because I was staying in Las Vegas until I got her out of my system. I didn't care how long it took.

  24

  Briana

  I expected there was nothing more confusing than having sex with a girl and having her practically run out on you immediately afterward. But did that stop me from doing it to Dorian? Of course not. Because I was dealing with a hefty dose of my own confusion at the time, and I wasn't in the right state of mind to confront it considering how foggy my climaxes had made me.

  In the days after Dorian left, I told myself that things with him hadn't been that amazing. Sure, they'd been good. He was sexy and charming and made me light up like a Christmas tree, but it couldn't possibly have been as good as I remembered, right?

  Except it was better.

  I didn't know why that had made me vault out of the penthouse like I'd just remembered a prior obligation in another state, but it did.

  I kept my head down as I walked through the hall, then to the elevator. I felt like a mess, like anyone who saw me would know what just happened. I spent the time on the ride down to the lobby smoothing down my clothes and hair, hoping that I could make it to my car without anyone noticing that I'd just had the best sex of my life.

  Again.

  Luckily for me, I didn't have much time to freak out over the day's events after I arrived home because Elroy was waiting at my front door.

  Fuck.

  He didn't look happy, but that could've been for a dozen different reasons. While his happiness wasn't my concern anymore, I knew that not provoking him was the best thing for both Mikala and me.

  “Hey, Elroy,” I said. I didn't make my voice warm, but it wasn't exactly cold either.