Page 63 of Billionaire Games
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The smellof roses wafted past Kel’s nose when she opened the yellow draperies that hung in the bedroom she chose for the night, exposing an open window. A lovely, candlelit dinner of steaks and steak-frites had filled the evening at a local restaurant. Then, Ethan, had the driver bring them home and asked Kel if she’d like to spend the night with him.
Kel had told him no. She didn’t want to feel forced to have sex with the man. No matter how honest they’d finally been with one another, the fact still stood that Ethan knew how to lie better than most. And that made her afraid of the man.
Not to mention the fact that she felt so much for him. The fact his touch filled her with frantic butterflies that were electrically charged. The fact his kiss filled her in such a way the planet seemed to disappear. Ethan was a man she should fear. Her heart was too fragile for a man like he was.
After changing into a pink satin nighty that went to just above her knees, Kel brushed her hair and teeth then climbed into the large and soft bed. The face of her cell phone lit up, and she picked it up off the nightstand. There was a text from Ethan.-May I come in and give you a good night kiss, love?-
Kel hesitated before answering him. His kisses were magical. One good night kiss might not suffice. Her fingers lingered over the screen’s keyboard. Hovering over the letter, n, she thought about how nice he’d been that night at dinner. How romantic he could be when he put his mind to it.
Even hiring actors to play some crazy relatives was filled with forethought. Her fiancé hadn’t given much thought to anything he’d ever done for her. Presents were the usual and expected things. Flowers on Valentine’s Day, a piece of not so expensive jewelry would come on Christmas and her birthday. No trips of any kind were ever planned by her ex.
Kel had a man within her grasp who could put significant thought into things that concerned her. Sure, everything up to that point had been to win a bet, but Ethan had it in himself to think deeply about her and make plans that were out of this world.
A soft knock came to the door. “Kel, can I please come in? Just for a second.”
She put her phone down, Ethan wasn’t going to wait for her answer. “It’s not locked, Ethan.”
The door opened and in came the tall, well-built Scot. His auburn hair was a mess of waves that flowed to his broad shoulders. It looked as if he’d ran his hands through his hair numerous times. Kel saw the worry on his handsome face as he got closer, coming into the light the small bedside lamp gave off.
“Kel, I can feel a disturbance in the force, love,” he said with a weak grin.
Kel laughed a bit, but he was right about a disturbance. Things were real after all the lies had been confessed by them both. And real was scary to her. She pulled herself up to a sitting position, then patted the bed for him to take a seat. “Ethan, I think I should be truthful with you.”
Taking the seat, he said, “Please do, my love.”
His words were a thing that worried her, so she told him, “Ethan, you’ve called me love since you met me. Am I to believe you or is that just a thing you call all women?”
Ethen inched his fingers over the pale blue blanket that enhanced the color of Kel’s dark blue eyes. Eyes that he noticed were a bit squinted as she watched him, looking for signs of truths and lies. He took her hand and held it to his whiskered cheek. “Kel, I’m not going to tell you what I think you want to hear. It’s true, I’ve called many a woman, love. And I used that to reel you in, or try to anyway. But as time has gone on and I know it’s not been much, I’ve grown to mean it when I call you, my love. Is that so hard to believe?”
She nodded. “It’s very hard to believe.” She curled her fingers into his beard, loving the way it was so soft. With a sigh, she whispered, “My heart hurts, Ethan.”
He pulled her hand to his plump lips and kissed the tips of her fingers. “Perhaps it hurts because it’s holding your words within it. The heaviness is most likely what’s making it ache. You should probably just spit those words out and allow them to fall where they may.”
“What’s the plan, Ethan?” she asked. “I need to know if you have a plan.”
“What’s your plan, Kel?” he shot back at her. “You see, you’re the wildcard, in my opinion. Your fear of love is a thing that quite frankly, frightens me.”
“It frightens me too,” she confessed.
His lips moved softly over the top of her hand then he ran them up her arm until he was close to her face. “Kel, my plan is to be with you. Wherever and however it works out. And I want you to know that I do love you. I can’t think a thought that doesn’t have you in it.”
Kel stared at him, wanting to be as honest with him as he was being with her but that fear was so intense, it kept her heart from doing what it wanted to. “So, you’ll move to Ashby? Is that what you’re saying?”
“I don’t see why I couldn’t. And I don’t see why you couldn’t move in with me.” He looked deep into her eyes as he went on, “Kel, I want you around all the time that I can have ya around. I want to see ya each mornin’ when I wake up and kiss your lips each night before I fall asleep. Do you want that with me?”
“You’re talking about something that’s far ahead in the future, Ethan. We have to get to know one another much better. I knew my fiancé for…”
His lips pressed against hers to stop her from saying any more. He pulled them away, only a bit as he whispered, “I am not him. Don’t make me pay for his debts, love. I’m not saying we need to rush to marry, but I am saying I want you in my bed. I want you there every night.”
The thought made her body flush with heat.He wanted her in his bed!
She’d never shared a bed with her ex. They’d never took the step of moving in together. And that was her doing. She’d refused to move in with him when he’d asked her to. She was worried about what people might say.
With Ethan’s body so close to hers, her hands moved on their own, running over his shoulders that were covered in a loose fitting, soft T-shirt. His pajama bottoms were soft too, she found as her hands flowed down his sides to land on his thighs. Large thighs that told her he could dominate her in bed.
Ethan was a beast of a man. Easily twice her size. But his heart was softer than any she’d ever known. She felt the honesty in his words, and her heart sped up, shooting the words out of her mouth, “I’d like that, Ethan.” Averting her eyes, she let the rest come out, “And I do love you. You consume my thoughts.”
