Page 4 of The Billionaire Dating Game

Alexei clenched and unclenched his teeth. Thanks to Jasmine, he knew better. Women didn’t see him. They saw what they could take. And no matter how many battles he fought, or how much money was in his bank account, he’d always be an immigrant from Ukraine.

He was about to turn away and leave her fate to the enchanted Rodriguez when her hands dropped to the side and a small silver purse dangled from her wrist.

The purse he bought for the woman that would spend the summer attending parties at his side.

Alexei froze.It couldn’t be.His brows wrinkled in confusion.

This woman didn’t resemble the profile picture from the Holidates app.

She looked up and their gazes met. Hers was warm amber, and his was cold fury.

CHAPTER THREE

Candice

Stay calm, Candice. Stay calm and smile.

Everyone liked her smile. She plastered one on her face and prayed no one saw how nervous or out of place she felt. Especially the man heading directly toward her. He was everything his profile picture promised and more. His allure was wild and sexual and it wrapped around her entire frame like a hot blanket on a cold night. And he wasn’t even beside her yet.

Sweat lined her palms as he maneuvered through the crowd, barely returning the greeting of the guests he passed. His eyes never left her. They were a coffee brown, so rich she thought they were black. He didn’t smile. His strong angular jaw became more pronounced the closer he came.

Candice trembled.

His black suit hugged his frame…tailor-made. It looked expensive but gosh it made him look like a million bucks. He was tall too, and her chin tilted when he stood directly before her, so close his heat tickled the exposed skin down the V at the front of her dress.

“Who are you?”

Well damn.She’d expected something…anything other than that dry, annoyed greeting.

“I’m Candice Harper and if you're Alexei Popova, I’m your date.” She was proud of herself for not buckling under his intense gaze. Her smile slipped from her mouth, but she had another at the ready.

“Is this a joke?”

“Don’t you know how to whisper?” Her eyes widened. People were staring.

“Pretend they are not there. I do.”

That was impossible when they looked at her with such open curiosity. “Can we go somewhere private?”

“Like the inside of my lawyer’s office? I wonder about her take on this little fraud ring you’re running.”

“Me?”

“I bet orange is your color.”

“It’s green,” she shot back at his attempt to goad her. “Look, you don’t know me, but once I put on your very expensive dress, a size too small by the way, I agreed to be on team Alexei.”

His hand gripped her waist and pulled her flush against the solid wall of his front…his entire front.Good gosh.He was all hard muscle. Candice sucked in a steadying breath, but what filled her lungs was the scent of Irish Spring. This man epitomized money, yet the inexpensive soap he showered with lent him a sexiness that spoke to her thrifty nature. She wanted to inhale again. Instead, she took a little sniff to steady her nerves.

He looked at her with such open distrust; his hostility unnerved her. His penetrating gaze coupled with his possessive hold shocked her. She hadn’t been touched so intimately in over a year. But she sensed that if he thought she and Anna were playing a trick in any way, this man would just as easily push her away.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he growled, drawing her attention again.

The subtle accent that chased his demand instantly dampened her panties. Although she couldn’t place exactly where, she guessed his origins were in Eastern Europe. Wishing he would whisper seductive words as he…

She cleared her throat. “Anna is sick, and she asked me—”

“This some kind of game to the two of you?” he interrupted.

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