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THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 173
Connor, Sebastian, and Johnny didn’t get back until almost 7 o’clock. Johnny was wary, jumping at shadows. “Damn, you would not believe how many people came rushing up, getting in Connor’s face and snapping pictures,” he said wearily. “It was a nightmare. Nobody bothered you up here, though, right?”Sebastian was jubilant, like a conquering king – or maybe the power behind the throne after a successful campaign.“Who is a genius?” he beamed, his arms outspread, inviting the adulation of an invisible crowd. “Who snatched victory from the jaws, not just of defeat, but utter disaster? Whose media strategy crushed that backstabbing skank and that evil old son-of-a-bitch? Moi, that’s who. Thank you. Thank you.”Then he frowned at me in my robe. “Good God, aren’t you ever going to get dressed?”Connor was smiling when he walked through the door, which relieved some of my tension.He came over and immediately hugged me, pulling me close, his arms wrapped tight around me. My fear ebbed away,
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 174
After a few moments he pulled away and smiled sadly at me. His hands were still cradling my head, and he wiped away the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. “Come on,” he whispered, “let’s sit down for a minute.”He led me over to the couch and we both sank down onto the cushions. I leaned against him, my head against his chest, and he encircled me with his arms.“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I just…”“It’s okay,” I whispered.“No, it’s not. I meant it when I said it, I just… I got a little freaked out this morning when I woke up. With everything that happened yesterday, and how much I hate my family, and you’re so good, you’re such a wonderful person… Jesus, Lily, seeing what they were going to do to you, and you were so brave, telling me to go ahead even though you knew what was going to happen… I’d never felt like that towards anyone, ever. And I meant every word.”But it was as obvious as a neon sign that he wasn’t saying it now.I was silent for a few seconds.“I didn’t ask yo
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 175
I sat there on top of him, kissing him, not wanting to let him go – – until someone banged on the penthouse door.Sebastian’s voice was muffled and far away. “I’m assuming from what I heard that the big finale is over. We need to get a move-on.”“Oh my God,” I cried out, and pulled the robe up around my naked body, even though Sebastian was on the other side of the door and nobody could see us.“Really bad timing, Sebastian!” Conner shouted over my shoulder.“Actually, sixty seconds ago would have been far worse.”“Give us a few minutes!” Connor snapped, then added, “And you’re still not going!”“DAMN IT, Connor!” Sebastian yelled, exactly like a spoiled four-year-old. I could have sworn I heard a foot stamping on the ground.‘A few minutes’ turned into ten as Connor changed his clothes. I stood there in my robe, watching him in the lamplight from beside the bed, enjoying the show. He was teasing me, though I didn’t realize it at first. He took off all his clothes – ALL of them, ev
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 176
I did end up calling room service – for a pint of Haagen Dazs, which I ate during a Big Bang Theory rerun.My phone kept buzzing on the coffee table. I checked it every time it did, hoping it was Connor.It never was. Just a bunch of phone numbers I didn’t recognize. Many different area codes, but a lot of New York and LA prefixes – 212, 310, 213.He’s still flying, I thought. He can’t call from the plane, I rationalized, even though I was pretty sure you could in a private jet.When I checked the messages, I realized Dad had left another one earlier, when Connor was still here. That’s why I hadn’t seen it.Tomorrow, I promised silently, feeling sick to my stomach. I’ll call tomorrow.Sure enough, Connor was on both Jimmy Kimmel and Leno – at the same time. Sebastian really was good.I flipped back and forth between the channels, watching Connor appear in two different places seemingly at once. Ah, the magic of pre-taped shows.Both shows had all the same things in common – the sexua
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 177
I came out of the bedroom close to dinnertime. Before I walked out, I splashed tons of cold water on my face to bring down the puffiness around my eyes, but I knew I wouldn’t be fooling anybody.Sebastian was sitting on the sofa watching another interview with Connor with the sound down low. As soon as I walked in, he shut off the TV with the remote.“It’s okay,” I mumbled.“I am sick to death of listening to Connor,” he announced.I laughed, though it sounded more like a hiccup. “That’s rough, considering it’s part of your job.”Sebastian ignored my comment, and instead gestured at the blank TV screen. “The man has too high an opinion of himself already. This just feeds it like a forest fire.”I stopped in my tracks and raised my eyebrows. “HE’S got too high an opinion of himself?!”“MINE is completely justified,” Sebastian said as though he were highly offended. Then he turned casual – almost warm. “What do you think about watching a movie tonight?”I stared at him. “What about work
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 178
Sebastian turned out to be right, no matter how much I tried to deny it.The first sign was that Connor didn’t call Friday.But yah, hooray, my parents did.I don’t want to linger on the conversation. Let’s just say it was unbelievably horrific. It’s never pleasant for anyone involved when a father finds out that Daddy’s Little Girl is having sex. Much less crazy, uninhibited, slightly kinky sex.Add in ‘there are pictures of it on the evening news,’ and you’ve got about the Worst Situation Possible.I found out that my parents had been contacted by dozens of reporters, both at home and at their workplaces. Local camera crews were camped out in front of their house at that very moment.I think I apologized about a thousand times.The only time I ever got angry was when my dad starting bashing Connor and calling him a scumbag. I defended him – of course I defended him! – which was precisely what I didn’t want to do. Not after my conversation with Sebastian last night. After the phone
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“How was your trip?” I asked, playing the dutiful not-wife.He sighed and settled down into the sofa. “I don’t think that’s really what you want to talk about, is it?”No.No, it wasn’t.“Have you eaten yet?” I asked.“Yes, on the plane,” Connor answered. “You?”“I had something earlier… since I didn’t know when you would show up,” I said, trying (but failing) to keep the accusatory tone out of my voice.We watched each other in silence. It reminded me of the first night we’d spent here, before we played cards and he made me crawl towards him on the floor.But whereas that silence had been a prelude to seduction, this was just painful, with no happy ending in sight.Pun intended.He sighed and settled back into the sofa. “Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?” Then he added, with a mixture of resentment and annoyance, “Seeing as you blackmailed me into coming back early.”I laughed once, cold and bloodless. “I blackmailed you?”He seemed to realize he’d gone too far. “Bad choic
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 180
It was the most painful time that we made love… and also the sweetest.He kissed me so softly, his lips barely touching my own. His hands ran down my bare shoulders and arms, encircled my waist, drew me close to him.I kissed him back softly at first, then passionately, wanting this time to last for the rest of my life if need be. Or at least not leave me with any regrets of holding back.His hands caressed my bare skin as his lips kissed my ears, my neck, my chest.My head tilted back and I moaned as he tugged down the front of my dress and kissed my breasts, caressing them, licking them, sucking at them.He bent down and picked me up, then carried me willingly to the bedroom, where he placed me delicately on the mattress.I reached up and fumbled with his clothes as his hands circled around me and unzipped my dress.Our clothes were off before I knew it, and then he was beside me on the bed, his body hard and muscular, his hands warm and tender as they touched me on my belly, my th
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