Page 21 of The Billionaire Submissive
“How’d you make it to my office building, then? There’s no place to park in downtown unless you have a pass or use the parking ramps.”
“I took a bus.”
The thought horrified him. Sexy, curvy Lilly riding a stinky public bus. God forbid in those incredible heels. “You will not ride the bus again.” He put all his considerable power into his voice, making it vibrate low and mean. If he’d spoken to his secretary like that, Miss Wruthers would have fainted. Or screamed and then fainted.
Lilly snorted. “Are you going to come get me every time I need to see you?”
“Yes. If that’s what it takes to keep you off the bus. Good lord, woman, don’t you know what kind of perverts and sickos ride the public buses? What happened to standard operating safety procedures?”
“Of course I know. That’s how I practice my ultra-mean Mistress glare. Besides, I also carry pepper spray and I’ve taken every self-defense class offered at the community center.” She leaned over and pressed against him as much as the seatbelt would allow, rising up to whisper in his ear. “Believe it or not, I know a trick or two about how to take a man down. Even one who’s mean, crazy and outweighs me by a hundred pounds.”
He could only imagine the many ways she’d be able to bring him down. Clearing his throat, he concentrated on the road ahead. They were crossing the river now, so they’d be at his condo in less than five minutes.I can hold on that long.“Don’t ride the bus again.”
“Yes, dear,” she laughed softly. “If that will make you feel better.”
“Infinitely better. I’ll send a car to get you if I can’t come myself. And you’re not driving yourself home tomorrow. I’m going to have a tow truck haul this poor, neglected car to the mechanic’s and we’ll go up to Lake Minnetonka for the rest of the weekend.”
He thought she might bristle at his heavy-handed decision, but she simply snuggled against him. “That sounds nice.”
He pulled into the parking ramp and rolled down the window so the attendant could see his face. “Hi, Charlie. I need a spot to park my guest’s car tonight.”
“You got it, Mr. Morgan.” The attendant handed him a ticket to place in the window. “Take the spot next to yours.”
The bar raised and he drove through the lower level, circling around until he came to his Jaguar.
“You make it sound so easy,” Lilly said without lifting her head. She almost sounded sleepy. “The bar never goes up for me.”
He parked the car and turned off the engine, but he didn’t open the door. Not yet. He didn’t want to break the spell. He hadn’t seen this side of Lilly yet. The softer side that would allow him to take care of her for a change. Take her to his lake home. Do things for her she couldn’t or wouldn’t do for herself.
Would she let me whisk her off for a shopping spree in Paris? Sail around the world?
Carry her into my home?
“We’re here,” he whispered against her head, smelling the sweet vanilla scent of her hair.
“I know,” she whispered back.
Gently, he tipped her chin up to his and stared into her eyes. She looked up at him with desire and amusement, a teasing, honest light in her eyes. The light he’d distrusted before.
Before I knew she was real.
“May I carry you upstairs to my bed, Mistress?”
“Yes,” she answered simply, no demands in her eyes or her voice. “Donovan.”
He got out of the car, gathered her gift from Dmitri’s, and then swung her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her head up beneath his chin. “I hope I’m not too heavy for you.”
He laughed, even though he wanted to throw himself down on his knees and swear to follow her to the ends of the earth. “You did eat a lot for dinner. I might not make it up to the penthouse.” And then to himself, he made a solemn promise in his heart.The bar will always go up for you, Lilly. I’ll make sure of it.
Chapter Six
He was true to his word. He carried her to the elevator, shifting her slightly so he could press buttons and unlock doors, but then he carried her straight to his bed. She didn’t even try to look around at his home until he set her on the edge of his bed and stepped back to look at her. She curled up on her side, propping her head up on her elbow, and simply watched him. No orders. No expectation. No guide from her. She simply wanted him to act without thought, because that would be what he needed the most at this moment.
Breathing hard—and not from the exertion of carrying her, because all the way upstairs he’d been fine—he shrugged off his coat and laid it across an easy chair in the corner. He pulled the tails of his shirt out of his pants and unbuttoned it. She thought he was trying for a slow, meticulous strip tease, but by the time he got to the last button, his hands were shaking.
He paused a moment, dark eyes flickering toward her where she lay on his bed. “Aren’t you going to do the same? Mistress?”
She smiled, lazily kicking her foot back and forth off the edge of the bed. He tracked the movement like a dog chasing a tennis ball. “Eventually. I’m having too much fun watching you.”
