Condemned (Beauty And The Billionaire Geek Book 2) (6 page)

“I grew up in a trailer park. They drank and fought all the time. Last time I went to visit them, I swore it would be my last.”

“When was that?”

“A few weeks ago. I used to visit them every month. I’m not going to this month.”

“You still visit your dysfunctional parents every month?” She seemed genuinely surprised.

“It was part of my routine. I admit, I’m too loyal. It’s stupid. I’m not going anymore.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being loyal. Although, there’s a point when you have to stand up for yourself. That’s what I told my sister Claire like a million times about Regan. Regan had been causing chaos in our house for years but Claire wouldn’t kick her out. I kept telling her we should, but she wouldn’t listen. Anyway, it turned out for the best. Regan is finally getting help.”

“What was wrong with her?”

“Bi-polar disorder. I’ve got a lot of crazy people in my family. I guess that’s why I am the way I am. I don’t let myself get too shaken up by things.“

“You’re strong.”

“I guess. I’d like to think so. I helped Claire take care of the house and her baby. I worked from the time I was sixteen. I had a good job back in California, but I knew I’d never get what I wanted out of life if I didn’t leave.”

“That was a brave decision.”

“I hope so. Sometimes I think it was just dumb.” She giggled and then took a deep breath.

“It’s important to stand up for your dreams. I made a promise to myself that I’d get a graduate degree back when I lived in the trailer park. A lot of my colleagues from my computer science program dropped out and got jobs already, but I stuck it out. I wanted to keep that promise to myself.”

“I can’t believe I’m dating a computer geek,” she said, giggling again, but her voice sounded strange.

“Not good enough in bed for you, huh?”

“Ha! That isn’t it at all. It’s just we don’t have much in common.”

“I think we have a lot in common. Just not the surface stuff most people can see.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

The gleaming light wood floors and high white ceilings made the dance studio at school seem spacious and clean. An entire wall was covered in mirrors.

I hooked my phone up to the speakers and flipped to one of my favorite dance songs. As the music started, I watched myself in the mirrors. After some stretches, I started to move. My body was out of practice, but I could still fly. I jumped and twirled, moving my arms and legs aggressively to the music.

When I came to a stop, someone cleared their throat behind me. I shot around and saw a girl standing in the doorway.

“That was awesome. You’re really good.”

“Thanks. I’m out of practice.”

“If that’s out of practice, I’d love to see in practice. My name is Bea.” The athletic brunette with full arm tattoos walked across the room to shake my hand. She had a pretty face with sharp features and a hip hairstyle in her long brown hair. “I’m a dancer too,” she said.

“Really?”

“Not like you but…”

“What do you dance?” I asked curiously.

“I’m in a burlesque troop. We’re just starting out. We don’t have a big name yet, like other troops in the area. We could use more girls, especially ones who can dance like you.”

“Burlesque, huh?” I said. Did I have “gets naked for money” written on my forehead?

“Nothing too racy. You’d be an attraction with how you can move.”

“I’ve never seen a burlesque show, I mean except for that movie.”

“They had some awesome dancers in that movie. Our troop is more like a variety show. We have a comedian and a magician. A few of us have backgrounds in dance, like you. We do some coordinated routines. Like in that movie. Want to come see us practice?”

“Maybe. Why not?”

We talked a while and I learned she had been a cheerleader in high school too. We got super excited when we found out we knew some of the same routines. I ran over to my phone and put on the song we danced to and came back to stand with her as the beat started.

We moved together in synchronized rhythm. My smile was so huge it would have taken and industrial strength mop to wipe it off my face. The simple act of moving my body to music in sync with another girl filled me with so much joy. When we finished, we jumped up and down squealing at each other.

“I’ll totally dance with your troop,” I said, catching my breath. I’d missed being part of a dance group so much since leaving the squad. She gave me the date and time for their next practice and took off to class.

After I finished working out, I showered, dressed, and reapplied my makeup. I checked my phone and found a text from Billy asking me to meet him at the park.

I rushed out to the bus stop and waited for the bus to arrive. It came on time and I hopped on. My stomach fluttered as the bus rolled down the street and turned onto the highway leading to where I’d find Billy waiting for me.

When the bus stopped at the park, I jumped off and headed straight for the spot where we’d first kissed.

“Zoe,” I heard his voice behind me, coming from the parking lot. I whipped my head around and looked at him across the distance. The sun glared in my eyes. I didn’t know if it was the sting of the light that hurt my eyes or the sight of him standing there.

I felt as if I might weep, and I didn’t understand why. The feeling caught in my throat, and I walked quickly toward him as he practically ran toward me. We met together on the black asphalt like two lovers from some dumb romance movie running across a grassy field. When we reached each other, we stood a foot apart breathing heavily. I squinted at him, I could smell the scent of his skin, warm and spicy like chi tea.

He moved toward me, and I melted into him as his arms gathered me into his chest. Billy had a slim built, but just then, he felt to me like the strongest man in the world. I breathed him in and rested against his heart. He rubbed my back and kissed the top of my head while I let my backpack slide down my arm and fall to the ground.

“Billy,” I whispered, lifting my head to meet his gaze. His hazel eyes burned with an unknowable fire as he stared at me. Without warning, he crushed his lips to mine, burning me with the blaze within him.

He made me feel like the most important thing in the world when he looked at me that way, when he kissed me. I had no choice but to be lost in it.

“Come on,” he said, pulling back and taking my hand. I grabbed my backpack and followed him through the maze of tall grass and towering hydrangea bushes in full bloom. The smell of rose scented pink peonies made me swoon. We ducked into the same bench behind the wall of bamboo and sat together holding hands in silence.

He caressed my hands as he gazed at them, and I caressed him back. The intimacy of his touch made my body tingle with desire. His shaggy, black hair hung over his eyes, and I couldn’t see his face or tell what he was thinking.

Most of the time, Billy was unreadable. I never quite knew what to expect or what to think. He lifted his gaze and shook his hair out of his eyes, reaching into his pocket. He produced a small gold box and presented it to me.

My heart skipped. Flowers, now this? No man had ever given me so many tokens of his affection. My voice caught in my throat. I couldn’t think, and I grasped my heart.

“Open it,” he said, smiling.

I reached for the box, trying to keep my fingers from trembling. I pulled the delicate gold ribbon and flipped open the hinged lid of what was obviously a jewelry box. Inside, I found an adorable charm bracelet.

He reached for the bracelet and unclasped it to put it around my wrist. He explained what the charms meant, holding each up for me to see. I couldn’t find words. It was as if they had been sucked out of me and replaced by the sound of my pounding heart. My face burned as he kissed my cheek and asked me what I thought.

“It’s gorgeous,” I managed to whisper. “Billy, it’s too much. You’re too generous. I don’t understand why...”

“Understand why what?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I like you, Zoe. A lot.”

“I like you too, Billy. But you don’t have to keep giving me gifts.”

“You don’t like it?” He looked hurt and confused. I grasped the bracelet and frowned.

“No. I do like it. I like it a lot. I appreciate it. It’s perfect really. It’s just… I’m not used to getting gifts like this.”

“Don’t you like gifts?”

“I do.”

“Then just accept it,” he said, smiling. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. His hands cupped my face and one slid down my neck and over my throat to trail down my arm. I was instantly turned on and clung to him, letting my hands run up his thigh and around his hips.

He growled and pulled me up to standing and led me through the park without a work.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“My house.”

I didn’t say anything else we got on the scooter and sped across town to his place. He led me down into his basement bedroom. It smelled like some ventilation, but I ignored it, as his kisses fell over my neck and chest.

I felt his hardness press into my stomach as he lifted my shirt over my head and unsnapped my bra. His mouth found my breasts, licking and sucking one and then the other. I pulled back and shimmied out of my pants and underwear.

Billy groaned and kicked off his shoes and flung off his clothes. I leaned back as he stalked over me, his lean muscles working. I gripped his length and caressed him as he had caressed my hands. He let out a heavy breath above me.

He leaned down and pushed his tongue in my mouth, pressing deep and thick inside me. I tugged at his erection as he kissed me hard. I moaned against his mouth as he pressed his fingers inside my swollen slit. He pumped his fingers into me, pressing against my desire.

Reaching over my head, he pulled a condom from the bedside table and rolled it over his member. He kissed down my body and lathed the tender flesh between my legs with this wet tongue.

When he climbed up to face me, he claimed my mouth and my core at the same time. I groaned under his deep, consuming kiss as he penetrated deep into me. Billy held me tight, moved into me in intense, waving thrusts.

His love making was so overwhelming, I lost myself in him. My body exploded continuously as he held me under him. I couldn’t move; I could barely breathe, but my orgasms rose and crested, gushing over me in an endless stream of pleasure.

When he released my mouth, a tortured cry escaped my lips. With that, he lifted my hands over my head and held my wrists with one hand while he fondled my breasts and pushed the last of his throbbing desire into me. I felt him erupt, and he groaned into my neck as his climax seeped from him.

We stayed there for a long moment. I clung to him for dear life. I didn’t know what was happening to me. My body adored him, craved him. He seemed to know how to push me over the edge into mind blowing intensity. He rolled off of me, taking his warmth with him. It felt as if I had lost part of myself. I sat up in the bed. Why did I feel that way?

I shook my head, trying to understand what was happening to me. I was stronger than this. I couldn’t be so attached to someone I just met a few weeks ago. The sex was amazing, he was sweet, we had an easy intimacy, but my growing need for him was too much.

I couldn’t let myself be so attached. Billy made me feel like I wanted to give everything up and spend the rest of my life adoring him, following him, and waiting patiently for the next time he’d fuck me or give me a gift. I couldn’t let that happen to me. 

No. I couldn’t give in to that feeling. I had to get away from this relationship, no matter how hard it might be. He was simply too much, too intense, too overwhelming.    He gathered me in his arms and pulled me down on the bed to rest on his chest. A tear fell from my eye and trickled down to fall on his skin.

“Are you crying?”

“No. I’m just tired.”

“Is everything alright?”

“It’s just, this relationship is moving so fast. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“You don’t have to be uncomfortable. I’ll take care of everything. We’ll move at whatever pace you want.”

“I don’t think we can, Billy. You have one speed and it’s turbo drive.”

“Maybe,” he said, pulling me into him and kissing my forehead. He sighed heavily and caressed my arm with his other hand. “Just try not to worry about it, okay?”

“Billy…”

“Shhhh. It’s fine. It will all be fine.”

I didn’t think it would be fine, but I didn’t want to argue with him. I rested my head against the steady beat of his heart and closed my eyes.

There was a knock at the door of Billy’s room, and I roused from my comfortable position on the bed. The cat jumped off my feet and scampered away. I stared at Billy as he sat up and looked at his cellphone clock.

“Billy, it’s game time,” a voice said behind the door.

“Oh crap. I forgot about the raid. Coming!” he yelled toward the door.

“What? Do you need to kill ants or something?”