Billionaire: Billionaire Romance: Billionaire Tiger (A Billionaire New Adult Shifter Contemporary Romance) (41 page)

“I’d rather not,” I said.

He laughed at me. It was infuriating.

“Would you like to take a stroll with me through the gardens?”

I reluctantly agreed.

We walked the steps down the portico and onto the path that leads deep into the gardens. We didn’t talk. I felt so incredibly awkward and nervous. The garden was dense and lush. I was astonished by the abundance of life. I was deep in thought when Antonio grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. I was caught off guard and stumbled my way into his chest. He looked down at me and I breathed in his scent. It was intoxicating. Within seconds his lips were on mine. My breath caught in my throat.

I felt myself becoming wet with just the proximity of his body. My lips parted and his tongue gently brushed against mine. I moaned and he pressed firmer against my mouth. He pushed more until I was going backwards with his arm around my waist gently guiding me. Soon I was pressed against the brick lined garden wall that was about waist high. Antonio put both of his hands on my waist, picked me up and sat me down on top of the wall. His hand slid over my breast. I was breathing heavily yet felt breathless at the same time. I felt I was on the verge of an orgasm and he had not yet touched my already wet center. I was baffled by the affect he was having on me. It was exciting and the thought that we could get caught any second was thrilling. But I knew that this was wrong. We shouldn’t be doing this. I shouldn’t be doing this. But I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop. I had thought about this moment for so long that the desire in me was now over powering all rational thought. I pressed my hand against his hard chest. He was solid and I could feel the ripple of his toned chest under my hand. I unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off. His six-pack abs and strong shoulders were lightly sun-kissed and I let my hands roam over them. I couldn’t stand it anymore; I needed him inside of me. He must have read my thoughts because he placed soft kisses on my belly and went lower. I tensed up. Antonio’s hand grabbed my thigh. His hand moved up my thigh. My dress pushed up along with the movement. He swiftly removed my pantalets from under my dress. With one movement his head was between my thighs and his tongue licked my crevice. I yelled out. It was obvious that he was skilled and knew his way around a woman. His tongue flicked against my clitoris. I could barely stand the feeling. It was too perfect and just right all at the same time. I whispered his name, “Antonio. Oh Antonio. Yes.” Then there in the garden, I had an intense orgasm. I could not believe the wild abandon that this man brought out in me. It was beyond reason. Antonio pulled himself up and looked around. We were all alone in the isolated path of the garden. He gave me that look. He unzipped his trousers and pulled out his long hard throbbing cock. He held it in his hands and rubbed it. My mouth fell open instinctively. He was a perfect specimen of a man. It was almost unbelievable the way he was made. I wanted to lick every inch of his body. However seeing that we were in the garden I knew that this had to be a quick encounter. He moved to me and placed his body between his legs. He placed the tip of his cock inside me and then said, “Wrap your legs around me.”

I did as he asked. Then he said, “Pull me toward you.”

I used my legs to pull him toward me and his cock slid deeper inside me. I moaned loudly with ecstasy. Antonio moved his hands under my buttocks and cupped them. He lifted me slightly off the wall and moved with me, pumping in and out. I was so wet from my orgasm earlier that he slid in and out with ease. It felt exhilarating and the sensations shot up through my body. I was in complete bliss. Antonio moaned and breathed heavily as he penetrated me working his hips in movement with our lust. We locked eyes and there was something in the way he looked at me that felt like more than just lust. It was soft and caring. I was growing more and more enamoured with every movement he made. He covered my mouth with his and groaned into it. I kissed him deeply and with as much passion as my body could pass on to his. Then he tensed up and squeezed me with a firmer grasp. Then he climaxed. His head tilted back in elation as he let go and released himself. He rested his head on my shoulder and breathed in deep. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him tightly to me. His kissed me softly and then pulled himself out of me. He pulled my dress down and did up his pants. He handed me my underthings and then looked at me with that smirk. I laughed. The arrogance of this man now made sense to me. He had every right to be arrogant because he was a skilled lover.

CHAPTER FOUR

Abandoned

He walked me back to the house and I excused myself to my room to rest before dinner. I snuck in a delightful nap and then woke up to get dressed for dinner. I picked a crème colored gown with a lace kerchief over my bosom. It was beautiful and I felt like I was glowing. I was ready now to go downstairs and enjoy the seductive and secretive looks from my new lover. I giggled at myself as I realized that I had now had a lover. How my life had changed since leaving America. I went from being the wife of a boring man with out any sort of romance in my life to being the secret lover of an adventurous man.

I walked into the parlor where Abigail and William were waiting for me. I looked around and was disappointed to see that Antonio was not in the room. I sat quietly assuming that he would walk in at any second.

“Excellent. We are all here now. Shall we go in for supper? I am famished,” William said as he stood up and took Abigail’s arm in his.

“We are? What about An… I mean Mr. Grace?” I said realizing just how much of my feelings I had just given away by asking in such a manner.

“Mr. Grace has left. He has gone north. Shall we?” William said.

He and Abigail left the room and I stood there in shock. How could that be? How could he just leave like that? After making love to me only a few hours earlier and now he was gone? I couldn’t move. I just stood there feeling empty and hurt inside. I felt stupid for allowing him to use me like a common whore. I gained my composure and walked into the dining room. I sat quietly all through out dinner. I could barely eat. I had lost my appetite. I felt awful. It was shocking treatment and I had never experienced anything like it before. It was not the way proper ladies like myself were treated. I wanted to inquire about where he had gone and if he would be back, but I didn’t want to lower myself to that level.

I made it through dinner with out bursting into tears. I excused myself early and went to bed, saying that I had a slight headache. I ran to my room, threw myself on the bed and burst into tears. I felt guilty like I deserved this treatment. I had acted like a common trollop and now I was being treated like one. I had not made him make any promises to me and I barely even knew the man. I went off of pure animal attraction. It was the downfall of many ladies in society. For that at least I should be grateful, that no one found out about our secret rendezvous. This all could be much worse. I wiped the tears from my eyes and fell asleep. Tomorrow will be a new day. It will be a better day. I could forget about all that had happened and I could forget about Mr. Grace.

The next morning, I was still very sad but I would not let that defeat me. I got dressed and went downstairs. I spent the day walking the gardens in solitude. When I returned to the house I walked past William’s study. My heart dropped to my stomach as I heard the familiar voice of Mr. Grace. He had returned. I was furious and I wanted to charge in there and give him a piece of my mind. Then I heard the footsteps of their boots head toward the door and I ran to the parlor. Abigail was sitting there.

“Regina, there you are! I’ve been looking for you. You are in for such a surprise, I can not wait,” she said as she jumped up and down.

“What? What do you speak of Abigail?”

Just then William entered the room, “Regina may I have a word with you? In private?”

Oh no, I thought. I had been found out. William was going to cast me out of his house. I was mortified.

“Mr. Grace has returned and just informed me of some spectacular news,” he said.

I held my breath. I could not believe that Antonio had told him about our secret. I wanted to cry.

“Mr. Grace, has asked for my permission for your hand in marriage.”

I almost laughed out loud at the notion, but I kept it under control. I was in shock and I felt giddy with delight. I wanted to jump up and down in joy. He had not abandoned me as I had thought. In fact it was the opposite.

“Since you are staying here in my house and I am the man of this house, he took it upon himself to ask me. He wants permission to ask you. How should I advise him?” he asked.

I sat silently with the biggest grin on my face. I didn’t need to think about it.

“Yes, I accept. Please tell him I accept.”

William smiled and left the room. Within seconds Antonio walked in. He took me by the hand and kissed me. Then he knelt down in front of me and held out a large antique diamond ring.

“Regina you have captured my heart. Will you have my heart and consent to be my wife?”

“Yes!” I yelled.

I hugged him and he placed the ring on my finger.

“Do you like it? I rushed north to grab it from my estate. It was my grandmother’s ring,” he said.

My eyes watered over. I loved it so much. It was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen.

“It is perfect Antonio! I love it,” I hugged him and kissed him. I felt stupid for thinking that he had abandoned me when in fact he had just gone to get this ring.

Abigail and William rejoiced with us.

“This calls for celebration!” William said.

William ordered a grand dinner for the evening and we invited all our closest London acquaintances to join us. It was a very lavish dinner and I was the talk of London. No one could believe that I was able to get the adventurous Mr. Grace to propose marriage. He had a reputation of being unattainable.

Antonio and I played flirtatiously just for show to the others. They had no idea that we already knew each very well. Within two weeks Mr. Grace and I were married. We moved to his estate in Bath and made our lives there. It made me laugh to think I had scolded Abigail for bringing this man into her home under the pretence of setting me up with another boring husband, and yet here I was marrying the very same man. I couldn’t be happier, me Mrs. Regina Grace. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.

*****

An Erotic Regency Romance

By Holly Marie

CHAPTER ONE

I was at the Royal Academy of London Art gallery looking at the exhibit of paintings with my sister Annabelle and her husband William. The year was 1850 and a group of sort of radical artists had hit the London art scene. They broke through conventional ways of thinking and lived and loved on their own terms. I ended up giving myself too and falling in love with one of them. His name was Leonardo Drivatti and he had a passion that exuded from at all times You could see it in the air. He had long curly dark unruly hair and he dressed strange. That is, he wore the attire of the day of trousers and shirt and vest, but also wore a silk scarf tied around his neck in the place of a simple bow tie like most men. He wore a stylized hat that was almost western in a sense, but still felt modern. He wore pointing boots when the style was round toed. He was an artist in all sense and he and his group of artist friends dressed this way and had a way of helping you suck the marrow out of life. When Leonardo walked into the gallery that day I stopped in tracks frozen.

“Eudora, are you alright? You look pale,” Annabelle said to me as she placed her hand on my arm.

She followed my gaze to the charismatic Leonardo across the room, who had locked eyes with me.

“Who is that man? He’s looking at you as though you have no clothes on,” she said in shock.

“I have no idea. I’ve never seen him before. Will you ask William who he is?” I said.

Annabelle inched her way toward her husband while I stared inappropriately at Leonardo. He smiled this arrogant smile at me and then pulled a flask out of his lapel and took a discreet, but not so discreet swig.

He was a rule breaker and unconventional and I was hooked at that moment.

“William says that is the painter, Leonardo Drivatti. He’s half Italian and staying with his very rich patron here in London while he paints,” Annabelle whispered in my ear.

I hardly heard her, as I was in a deep trance.

Annabelle disapprovingly pulled me into another gallery room away from the wicked man. I pretended to not be interested. Eventually I pulled away from Annabelle and her husband and made my way alone into another gallery. I felt Leonardo’s eyes on me. My race pulsed and my heart fluttered as I felt him closing in.

“Are you discreet?” he whispered over my shoulder. He stepped away circling me as I stared at the painting on the wall.

“What are you talking about?” I whispered and swallowed hard.

“Are you discreet?” He asked with an air of arrogance.

My face turned bright red. He walked across the room and came inches away from my body. The energy moving between us was magnetic and I could sense that it was building up to something. I wanted to reach out and touch him. He turned toward the doorway to make sure no one was coming and then leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “Can I trust you to be discreet?”

My head was spinning. Maybe it was from the champagne or maybe it was from his manly scent filling the air around me. I felt like I might have to hold onto the wall in order to keep my balance.

“Discreet?” I asked.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” he grinned in amusement.

He was so arrogant it drove me crazy. I looked up at him and forced myself to smile.

“Discreet? Meaning you’re trying to get me into your bed sir?”

He froze and said nothing. He looked at me up and down and I felt like I was being judged by his dark brown eyes. Then he started laughing. I immediately felt mortified. Why did I just say that? I’m sure that my face was bright red now.