Billionaire's Bounty (Plus Size Loving) BBW Erotic Romance (10 page)

“Well, I can
imagine your dilemma, since, let’s face it - no woman has ever said “no” to you
before,” his PA said drily. “I’m afraid you’ve never had much practice at being
refused, Mr Jude Stone. But now I
think a little insecurity is actually going to do you good.”

He was staring
at her and shaking his head in wonder. “Why do you like to see me suffer?”

“You’re my
boss,” she said with a huge, spreading grin. “That’s my prerogative. So...are
we doing this or not?”

***

Miranda was
looking forward to this appointment. After all these months of sending out
feelers, trying to make designated links with a financial consultancy ready to
handle their stock portfolio, she’d hit pay dirt.

“The Bretton
Group...these guys are the best there is,” Jeff told her approvingly. “Good
work, Miranda; this is your baby, so you should handle the proposal. Think
you’re up to it?”

She inhaled
deeply, taking in a bracing breath. It was true that she was the one who’d got
them the deal, but it was cool of her brother to consider letting her do the
pitch, even though this would technically be the first time she’d be making
one.

“I think so,”
she said, shrugging. “I mean
,
I’ve done the research,
worked out the ground plan. I’m definite I can make a commendable
presentation.”

Jeff nodded
approvingly. “That’s the spirit,” he said, with a playful chuck to her chin.

“So, what time
do you need to be there?”

“They’re
sending me a car,” she said, glancing at her watch. “At noon. And it’s a few
minutes till then.”

“Well, let me
leave to finish with preparations,” Jeff said, heading out the door of her
office, glancing back with a small smile and a nod. “Once again, sis, great
job.”

***

Miranda looked
out of the car window, turning to the driver in surprise. “Excuse me; I don’t
think this is the way to the Bretton offices...”

It was barely
five minutes since she’d been picked up from her office, and she was only just
realizing that they’d taken a wrong turn.

“Oh, I forgot
to mention it, ma’am, but I’m supposed to take you to the Marquis instead;
there’ll be a lunch meeting instead.”

“I see,”
Miranda said, sitting back with a slight frown as she recognised the name of
the high-end restaurant. But then she shrugged. One couldn’t really be
surprised at these top-playing businessmen. It was best to just flow along with
their whims. If she would have to give her presentation over the lunch table,
then so be it.

In barely ten
minutes, she was at the restaurant. She walked into the elegant interior, and
was met by the headwaiter
who
proceeded to lead her to
her table. She had a courteous smile on her face, her hand gripping tighter on
her case as she mentally schooled herself for what lay ahead. She reached the
table, and saw a devastatingly familiar figure rising as she appeared.

“Jude,” she
gasped, standing stock still as her eyes locked with his calm gaze. “What’s
going on?” And then realization dawned, making her jaw clench. “Don’t tell
me...you’re the Bretton Group.”

“I am now,"
he murmured. "Please, sit down. I want you to at least hear me out."

"I don't
think that's wise, do you?" She asked with dripping sarcasm. "Because
the last time I did that, look what happened."

"Miranda,
please." He held her gaze with compelling warmth. "I promise, this
time, no games, no tricks. I just want to talk."

Reluctantly,
she sank into a chair, and saw him signal for the waiter. Scowling, she told
him, "Look, Jude, I'm five seconds from walking out of here, so..."

"Okay,
I'll make it quick," he said drily, holding up his hands. "I found
out the Bretton Group were interested in handling your interests?” he said with
a calm tone, indicating the chair across from him.

“We both know
what happened the last time I did that, now don’t we?” she said ironically, and
felt his gaze hold hers compellingly.

“This time, no
games, Miranda. No tricks up my sleeve. I just want to talk.”

She sighed
angrily, sinking into the chair. “I just don’t understand. Why are you here? I
was supposed to meet with the people from Bretton. Don’t tell me you own that
too?”

“As of
oh...last week, I did,” he said mildly. “I found out you’d been angling for a
deal with them. It was a simple matter to take over their subsidiaries.”

She was staring
at him in confusion. “You mean
,
you took over the
company? Just to get to me?” She shook her head, amazed. “Will you stop at
nothing? Do you think you can buy your way through everything? Even me?”

“I’m only
interested in helping, Miranda. You sent back the papers in shreds. I felt like
I still had a promise to fulfil –”

“Well, you’ve
been officially freed from that promise,” she gritted out. “Damn you, Jude.
Jeffrey was right; dignity is far more important. If you think I need your pity
or charity...”

“Not pity,
Miranda, and certainly not charity,” he said his tone as light as ever. “You
came here to make a presentation; Bretton were already interested in taking up
your portfolio. So in essence, you’ll be doing the same thing: getting
financed, working to get back on track – just that you’ll be doing it
with me.”

She stared at
him with furious eyes. “Now why the hell would I want to do that?”

“Because I’m
the best at what I do. And because in less than six months, I can guarantee
you’ll be able to legitimately take back control of your company.”

“I feel like
I’m having a bad case of déjà vu,” she said mockingly, her head on one side.
“You offer to help me in some way, and then I have to ask what I need to do in
return. Right?”

His eyes held
no expression, though she dearly wished she could guess what he was thinking.
She just never seemed to be able to tell. “I told you, Miranda – no
tricks. I just...I’m thinking this may be my chance to make amends.”

“Amends?” she
croaked, thrown by the sudden vulnerability that flashed across his face.
Jude, vulnerable?
She almost couldn’t credit her senses.

“Yes,” he said,
firmly, before reaching out a hand to cover hers. Just that touch from him, and
Miranda felt projected back to the three nights they’d spent together. She
could have sworn she was over that, had been so sure she’d put it all behind
her. But then she’d walked in and seen him, as devastatingly gorgeous as ever
– and then he had to touch her. His fingers tightened on hers and she was
forced to look up into his piercing aqua eyes. And couldn’t seem to look away.

“I went about
things the wrong way,” he continued with a rueful shrug. “And found out to my
self-disgust that I may just be as much the bastard as everyone says I am.”

“I don’t think
you’re bastard,” she heard herself say. “Well, not recently I haven’t.”

“Thanks,” he
said drily. “It took just one night with you – and I knew I’d played the
wrong card. I shouldn’t have been gunning for a week – I should have been
aiming for far, far more.”

“Trust me,
anything more than a week of sex and you’d have been sick of me,” she joked,
deliberately misunderstanding him as she tried not to quail underneath his
melting smile.

“I honestly,
truly doubt that,” he said, his thumb stroking over her knuckles caressingly.
“So here’s the deal –”

“I knew it! I
just knew there was a catch somewhere,” she said half in irritation.

“Will you shut
up and listen?” he growled, eyes dancing. “There’s no catch, Miranda. I’m
simply about to suggest that we start over.
As friends.
I know I’m your brother’s least favourite person in the world – and the
same could go with your father – but I’m hoping that somehow, I can
eventually get to warm up to me. In the meantime, we give ourselves time to get
to know each other – without the intimacy this time.”

“What?” she
asked, eyebrows
raised
.

“That’s right,
Miranda, no sex.
Just us working things out together, as a
couple.
I want to prove to you that it’s not all about the physical with
me. I desire you as a woman, that’s a given, but I care about you as a person,
too. And I want to prove that.”

Miranda bit on
her lip in consternation. “I’m not sure what you’re requiring of me here. Are
you asking me to date you,
Mr.
Jude Stone?”

His lips were
wry. “Something
like
that. I know I’ve got a lousy
track record in that department, but I’m thinking I’ve met someone who can
finally change that.”

Whoa, Miranda
thought, staring at him in amazement and still wondering if this was all just a
very bad, very horrible joke.

“Well?” she
heard him ask, and this time his smile was not so confident. “I’m dying here,
Miranda. I need you to put me out of the misery I’ve been in since that morning
your brother yanked you away from me. If you know how dearly I wanted to seize
you right back -”

“But you
didn’t; you let me go,” she accused. “I felt like such an idiot when you told
me it was right to listen to Jeffery. I felt like I’d been cheated, somehow.”

Jude looked
confused for a moment. “Cheated...? How...”

For a reply,
she leaned forward to pressed her lips to his in a moistly aggressive kiss. She
felt him stiffen, and then seconds later he was pulling her close, grinding his
mouth into hers and almost crushing her with passion.

“You owe me
three nights of abandoned, heedless sex, Mr Stone,” she said wickedly when she
pulled back to look into his desire-hooded eyes. Both of them were oblivious of
the fact that they were in the restaurant, drawing curious looks from the other
diners,

“And then
you’re telling me we’re going to be dating platonically? Hell
no
.”

“Well...some
rules were made to be broken
...,
” he said musingly,
and then shook his head firmly. “No. I – we need to be strong. We’ll have
endless nights of passion ahead of us, but first...I want you to get to know
the real me. My interests, what makes me tick – and I’m so interested in
finding out the same about you. There’s the next several months to manoeuvre
the deal for your company – and while we work together, we’ll always make
time for play, too.”

“Looks like
you’ve mapped it all out,” she said drily. “I just can’t help wondering how you
got so smart when it comes to women, Mr Stone.”

“I’m not,” he
said, grinning suddenly. “Not in your case, anyway. I’ve bungled things a lot
since we met, Miranda. But this time, I got some outside help.”

“Carly?”
Miranda asked intuitively, and when he nodded, she added with a smile of her
own, “Looks like me and that PA of yours are going to get on famously, Jude...”

Six months later
...

The celebratory
gala had gone well. Her father and brother had been all-smiles throughout the
evening. The champagne flowed as smoothly as the many speeches, which all had
the same theme: success.
The return of the company, now
legitimately theirs again.
It had been a long, hard road, but from the
looks on their faces, Miranda was sure it had all been worth it.

Jude was
standing next to her, a steady presence though in the backdrop – just
like he’d been in the past few months. Playing a background role yet just as
significant in the road up to where her family had reached. And best of all, he
was still here, with her. They were still together. Now that was one more thing
she wished to celebrate...

“Want to skip
the rest of the party?” she leaned forward to whisper in his ear. He turned to
her in surprise, saw her expression, and his eyes gleamed. It hadn’t been that
long that they’d broken the pact of celibacy, and so far every moment they
shared in each other’s arms was like the first time: mind-blowing, magical.

“I’m sure we
won’t be missed,” he replied quite mildly by way of agreement. “Though I need
to be sure exactly what you have in mind?”

“It’s got
plenty to do with a certain leather paddle I had delivered just this morning,”
she purred, downing the last of her wine and placing it on the nearby table.
“And it definitely needs breaking in, or don’t you think?”

“Absolutely,”
Jude said, his voice rough with barely reined-in enthusiasm. “You’re more than
overdue for some discipline, woman. I didn’t like the way you were flirting
with your last dance partner. I promised myself I would teach you a lesson for
that.”

Miranda bit
back a giggle, pleased with the unmistakable spark in his eye. “I know I
shouldn’t love my punishment so much, but I do,” she confessed on a soft
whisper, her lashes fluttering. Her hand slipped into the crook of his arm, as
she added, “Alright, Mr Jude Stone...let’s go so you can show me what a bad,
bad girl I’ve been.”

“With
pleasure,” he growled, as he led his mischievous woman out of the room as fast as
their legs would carry them.