Page 12 of The Billionaire Dating Game

“Besides, Jasper isn’t that far away. I’ll hop on your plane and boom!” She snapped her fingers.

“Ni,” he whispered. “You’ll stay with me.”

“I can’t stay with you.”

“Why the hell not? It’s easier this way.”

She didn’t look convinced as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “What about my things?”

“The boxes will be sent to the penthouse, and your furniture will be kept in storage.” He leaned closer and she gasped. “Is that a yes, Candice?”

“You’re making a mistake. It’s not too late to get Anna—”

“Do I look like a man that doesn’t know what he wants? If I wanted your friend, my lawyer would have made it happen.”

“Alexei…”

When she said his name, it sounded like powdered sugar sprinkled on his favorite dessert. His eyes dropped to her lips and before he could stop himself, his desire rang in the space between them, “Before our time is over, you’ll cry my name, malo svitla.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Candice

“Where are we going?”

They had been driving for half an hour. She knew they were still in Louisiana, but she hadn’t traveled this far outside the metropolitan area.

“To my place in Wheelcaster,” he said, naming New Orleans’ sister city. Wheelcaster was just as vibrant and alive as New Orleans with culture that stretched back generations.

She tried not to fidget in the leather seat beside him. Gosh, the man was sexy and at home behind the wheel of his slick luxury car. The entire interior was leather—smelled freshly polished too—and trimmed in red. The seat was cool against her thighs and the tinted windows blocked the heat from the summer sun.

“You live in Wheelcaster?”

“Our company is in Wheelcaster, and so is my family home.”

Two weeks she’d spent worrying he’d changed his mind, and all along he was right here in Louisiana. Instead of asking why he hadn’t called, she looked out the window. As he’d said, she wasn’t his friend, or worse, some needy girlfriend. She was here to be arm candy at his events…so why did his indifference sting.

Because, like an idiot, she was doing what she’d always done, falling for guys outside of her reach…the ones that couldn’t love her back. Candice winced. Except, Alexei Popova was no fratboy; he was older and all man. Tall, built for a night of wicked pleasure, and confident. The type of confidence that had turned her on until there was no choice but to touch herself. She’d come hard, bringing herself to orgasm after orgasm with thoughts of him.

But there was no them, and this growing tug of war with her emotions wasn’t real. There was only a bargain struck with the wrong woman, and Candice couldn’t forget that. Even if her body begged otherwise.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she lied. “I was thinking that your car smells better than the city bus.”

“The first bus of the day isn't too bad.”

Her eyes widened. “Did you lose a bet or were you forced to ride the bus?”

He grinned and her pulse quickened. “Do you drive?”

“And miss out on all that sweaty after-work odor on the bus?” She shook her head.

“Give me your hand.”

She resisted for half a second, before putting her hand in his and wasn’t prepared for the electric shock that raced along her skin. As if possible, it was more intense in the confined space than it had been in her apartment or when he’d kissed her. Every sensation sent flutters of charged power to the ache between her thighs.

Placing her palm over the stick shift knob, Alexei linked their fingers, then shifted gears. The car accelerated. and Candice squealed as he rapidly changed lanes on the highway. Immediately, she knew he was drawn to the raw power of the car. The speed, the low hum of the engine, the rush, everything excited her too.

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