Page 2 of The Billionaire's Naughty List

Best to look your cutest at all times.

I snicker at the silly thought and then cozy up to the snow-crusted branches of the fir tree. My boots slip on the slick rocks and I shoot a wary glance at the lake as I right myself. I’m perched only a handful of feet up the slope from the water’s edge and though it’s a dreamy spot for a summer swim, I have no doubt it’s only a hair warmer than hypothermia right now.

Returning my attention back to my phone, I hit the button on the remote and start taking pictures. Flirty shots. Demure ones. My subscribers like both.

I hum along with Santa Baby, turning this way and that. Reaching into the tree like I’m searching for just the right branch. December is by far my most lucrative month and I’ve already broken last year’s record. By like a mile and a half.

Taking these two days to myself was such a good idea. I can relax before the chaos.

A twig snaps behind me and I jerk away from the tree, whirling.

2

ELLIOT

Lily’s startled cry echoes over the sultry rendition of Santa Baby and her boots slip as her arms whirl through the air like helicopter blades.

I yell her name and race forward, miraculously finding purchase on the rocky ground beneath the snow.

She skids and stumbles down the embankment, landing ass first into the frigid water. Her shriek echoes across the icy wilderness. My heart stops.

“Holy shit. Lily?—”

Her candy-stripe covered knees poke up out of the water and a halo of red velvet and white marabou trim float around her. She brushes a handful of long brown hair out of her face. Then her eyes lock with mine.

Her fear and shock dissolve as her lips twitch. She sucks in a shaky, shivery breath, then exhales a cloud.

All the turbulent emotions that brought me to Love Valley crystallize as I slide down the hill after her.

"Are you okay? Give me your hands."

She laughs as she reaches for me. “Oh my god, Elliot, you should see your face.”

Her icy fingers wrap around my left hand, chilling me to the bone. The dress clings to her like a second skin.

A very red, very thin second-skin that leavesnothingto the imagination.

Her nipples poke the fabric like twin gumdrops. The velvet shows off the dip of her belly button, and every other feminine curve I should not be memorizing.

"Seriously, you look like I just fell in a pit of lava with impervious crocodiles swimming around.” Her teeth chatter.

"You have such a vivid imagination," I mutter.

She slips as her boots connect with the icy shoreline. I can’t have her pulling us both in the drink.

After shaking her hand loose, I hook her beneath the arms and haul her out of the lake.

Water drips off her, down the front of me, but I couldn’t care less.

She’s soaked like a kitten in the rain.

The once fluffy strips of feathers lay plastered against her skin. She grips my biceps as she gets her footing, those big caramel colored eyes blown wide.

Her teeth clank harder, making her words sound slurred. “I’m okay, Elliot.”

She’s not okay. She’s freezing to death before my eyes. Her skin is bright pink from the icy water.

I slip off my coat and slide it over her shoulders. The soft lining will help warm her up.

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