Page 57 of Billionaire Games
Cait wasn’t wrong about the snakes. Phoenix knew that each year the oil field workers killed five to ten of the poisonous creatures on his place, alone. Her instincts were right.
Everything about the girl was right, except the conniving part of her, Phoenix thought. “I tell you what, you and I are going to the little town that’s just a piece down the road and have some dinner then maybe get a room in town for the night. I really do want you to get to know this place. This is where my future will be. Maybe I could buy a house in town. Maybe that’d be more your style.”
“You keep talking like I’m about to move down here with you. I’m not,” she told him. “I’m still in school, and that’s my top priority.”
With her words, he let her out of his hold. “About school. I suppose you’ve gotten into a real financial pickle with all those student loans. I’d like to help you out with them.” Phoenix eyed her to see if she’d accept his help and let the marriage thing go.
He wanted them to stop the playing against the other thing they’d been secretly doing. Phoenix wanted things to be real between them. A thing they were far from at that moment.
Cait was wondering what he was up to. She placed her hand on her hip and shifted her weight. “I don’t need your help, thank you very much.”
Moving around her, like a cat stalking its prey, he said, “I think you do. I think you need my help very much. You have to admit, it’d help your father out tremendously if I settled your debts. Don’t you want that for him?”
She gulped as Phoenix circled her then stopped in front of her, taking her by the chin, making her look into his eyes. Cait was on the verge of telling him the truth. The only thing keeping her from blurting it all out was the fact that he was hanging on to his secret too. “My father wouldn’t want me accepting that kind of money from a man.”
“But a husband, he surely would,” Phoenix said then smiled.
“What are you getting at, Phoenix?” she asked him as she knew he didn’t want to marry her. And she didn’t want to marry him. It was all too soon, and there were lies in their way.
A loud popping sound made them both jump and Phoenix ran outside to see what was making the noise. Cait followed, and the two found one of the tanks had a small lid that was blowing up as each pop sounded. “I need to make a phone call,” Phoenix said. “We should get out of here.”
Hurrying to the truck, Cait climbed in on her own so they could get out of there faster. Phoenix got in the driver’s side and pulled out his phone as he pulled away from the area. “Why do you think it’s doing that, Phoenix?”
“I have no idea.” He gave her a look that told her more than he’d been telling her.
“You’ve never stayed out here, have you?” she asked him with a frown. “You’re trying to make me think this is what you want, but it’s not, is it?”
“Um, uh,” he had no idea what to tell her. He drove away from the smell and the noise that he knew damn good and well he never wanted to live around. And suddenly he felt he had to open up and be honest with the young woman. “Let me make this call to the oil company and then you, and I are going to have a long talk.”
Cait nodded and leaned her head against the headrest. It seemed they were finally going to get to the truth. Or so she hoped.
