Curves for the Billionaire (7 page)

Samantha hugged her new sister-in-law back, a little surprised that Zachary hadn’t revealed the reason for their marriage even to his twin.

“Mummy,
I
want to marry Uncle Zac,” whined Kayle, Zoë’s middle child, tugging on her mother’s dress and giving Samantha a petulant, jealous look.  Zoë’s oldest and her baby boy were holding hands and swaying to the popular love song playing in the background.

“You can’t marry your uncle, sweetie.”  Zoë lifted her daughter up and placed her on her hip.

“Why not, Mummy?” Kayle demanded.

“Because you’re little, darling, and Uncle Zac is big,” Zoë explained, with a conspiratorial wink in Samantha’s direction.  “If he married you it would be naughty and the police would arrest him and put him in jail.”

“Oh.”

The two adults tried hard not to laugh as Kayle digested the information, her little face scrunched up in concentration as she tried to come up with a counterargument.

“I need to steal the bride,” Fiona apologized, appearing beside them in the scarlet dress that looked as though she’d burst out of it if she took too deep a breath.  “They have to leave in ten minutes.”

“Be patient with him,” Zoë whispered, hugging Samantha in farewell.

Samantha wanted to laugh.  She was the one who would need patience.  There was a little matter she hadn’t discussed with Zachary and time was running out fast.

“I might have helped the wedding planner a little,” Fiona confessed as she manoeuvred Samantha away from the guests and into a quiet corner.  “Zachary called me.  He wanted everything perfect for you.”

“I  did wonder how everything was just as I would have wanted it!”

“It wasn’t easy!”  Fiona wiped her brow dramatically, but for the first time Samantha noticed the faint circles ringing her friend’s dark-blue eyes.  “Honey, Zachary really loves you.  You always tell me how laid back he is for a man of his wealth, but trust me he can be a tyrant!  When I told him on Wednesday that the cake might not be ready on time he was absolutely furious!  His voice was as cold as ice when he demanded, ‘Can you handle it, or do I have to call someone else?’.  He sounded so authoritative and commanding my clit jumped.”

“Ugh!” Samantha gasped.  “You’re so nasty!”

“I’m just saying, girlfriend,” Fiona said with a wink.  “I’ve never thought of having a threesome, but if he ever decides that he wants two gorgeous, voluptuous babes in his bed instead of one, please call me day or night.”

“Fiona!”  Samantha never knew what outrageous thing would pop out of her friend’s mouth next.

“No need to thank me, sweetheart.  That’s what friends are for.”

The light-hearted banter wasn’t about the teasing
ménage a trois
offer.  It was about everything the woman had done for Samantha in the last weeks—helping with the arrangement of first her father’s funeral and now her wedding.

“You’re the best friend a girl could have.” Samantha hugged her friend tightly, vowing that she wouldn’t let marriage change the close friendship they shared.

“Your groom’s coming to get you,” Fiona warned.

Samantha briefly tightened her arms around her friend and then let her go.  Turning, she found Zachary striding towards them, his long legs quickly eating up the distance.

“Thanks again, Fiona.”  He smiled briefly at the other woman as he took his new wife’s hand.  “Time for us to go if we’re to make the flight.”

A few minutes later Samantha turned her back and threw her bouquet blindly in the direction of the small group of eligible young women present.  Fiona’s triumphant laughter told her even before she turned around that her friend had managed to catch it.  Eyes blurred, Samantha prayed the superstition would come true as Zachary handed her into the black Rolls Royce limousine he kept parked at his London head office and used mostly for ferrying around overseas associates when they visited London on business.

They both waved at the guest through the rear window as the vehicle moved slowly away.

***

Chapter Four

“Happy?” Zachary asked, his eyes probing hers, as the driver moved onto the main road and quickly accelerated.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Expecting him to kiss her, she waited breathlessly.  Instead, he kissed her cheek, put his arm around her and leaned back against the seat of the limousine.  Samantha glanced at him in surprise.  In repose he looked so much younger and less in control.  And like Fiona, he had faint dark circles around his eyes.  Samantha felt guiltily conscious of the fact that he had worked extra hard to clear his diary of obligations—rescheduling as many appointments as he could for earlier dates and postponing others until after his return.

Within moments he was asleep.  Bemused she closed her eyes and let the sound of his deep breathing loll her to sleep, too.

She awakened as the limousine pulled into Heathrow Terminal 5.

Zachary had arranged for her luggage to be collected earlier in the day and over the next hours Samantha was treated to a preview of what her new life would be, even if only for two or three years.  She felt slightly guilty as they sailed through British Airways Fast Track Security and tried to avoid making eye contact with any of the economy passengers waiting in line.

Still full from the sumptuous meal they’d enjoyed at their reception, she and Zachary opted for Afternoon Tea in the Concorde Room.

And just when she’d thought that things couldn’t get any more decadent, Samantha discovered that Zachary had arranged for the airline’s Turndown Service for both of them.  They were given soft cotton sleepwear and literally tucked into fully flat beds with Egyptian cotton duvets and comfortable pillows.  The only thing that would have made the experience more perfect, Samantha thought, would have been sharing the bed with Zachary, her head snuggled against his broad shoulder.

They declined the offer of breakfast in bed for the following morning, opting instead for an extra lie-in.  Just before arriving at Dubai International, Samantha grabbed her bag of toiletries and went to freshen up in the bathroom.  When she returned Zachary’s seat was empty, but he came back a minute later, the bag of luxury products the airline had provided clutched in his right hand.

They landed ten minutes before the plane’s scheduled arrival time of 07:35 local time.  Once again they were treated with the same flawless service and Samantha began to understand why celebrities became ever more demanding—with people everywhere falling over themselves to ensure your comfort, it would be so easy to come to expect it as your God-given right.  Zachary seemed unfazed by it all, but she was pleased to see that he thanked service givers and tipped discreetly but heavily when appropriate.

***

The Royal Suite was a kaleidoscope of bright colours.  As Zachary playfully swung her up in his arms and carried her over the threshold, Samantha was grateful that she had heeded Fiona’s advice and packed mostly white garments.  It would have been futile trying to compete with the splendour of the room.

“I hope you’re fully rested.”  Zachary lowered her feet to the floor, then took her hand and led her through to the lounge as their luggage was carried soundlessly to the upper level.

“I don’t feel jet-lagged at all,” she replied, surprised.  In fact she felt completely wide awake and ready to take in the delights of the city after a lightning shower.

“Good.”  Zachary turned her towards him and smiled down at her.  “Let’s have something to eat before we go to bed.”

Had he misheard her?

“But I’m not tired,” she protested.

“Neither am I.”

“So why…?”

Surely he didn’t mean to make love in broad daylight?

He raised an eyebrow and nodded as if in answer to her unspoken question.  Samantha’s heart leapt in her chest.  She had thought they wouldn’t go to bed until evening and make love in the darkness—not with bright sunshine flitting through the windows.  She released her breath in a startled gasp, and the rise and fall of her breasts brought Zachary’s eyes to the necklace she’d kept on after changing out of her wedding gown.

“I didn’t know you still had this.”  He fingered the gemstone, looking pleased that she’d managed to keep it safe for almost ten years.

“I don’t wear it often.”  The simple words concealed more than they revealed—she didn’t wear it often because she was terrified of losing it.  Zachary had given her dozens of gifts over the years, most so expensive she’d had to have them insured, but the necklace was far the most precious.  “It was my ‘something old’.”

“Your eyes are a little darker.” Zachary raised her left hand and kissed the diamond encrusted platinum band he’d placed on it earlier. Then as casually as if he was reaching for some spare change, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an engagement ring which was a perfect complement to her wedding band with a flawless deep golden brown topaz nestled in the diamond-studded petals of a rose.  “I think
this
is a closer match.”

“Zac, this is too much!” she protested as he slid it in place, but couldn’t help herself as she held her hand up to catch the light.  He must have them both specially made—brown topaz as the centre stone for an engagement ring was unusual and so was the rose setting.  “It’s absolutely gorgeous!”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Slipping her arms around his neck, she raised herself on tiptoes and kissed him softly.  “Thanks for everything.”

“You’re welcome.”  He bent his head and returned the caress.  “Let’s eat.  I ordered English and Continental for our first morning here, but tomorrow we can be a little more adventurous.”

Samantha hadn’t heard a whisper of sound, but the dishes must have been laid out mere minutes before they entered the dining room.  The coffee and tea were piping hot, the croissants and assorted bread rolls freshly baked.  The eggs, sausages and bacon looked so inviting, Samantha’s stomach rumbled in anticipation.

“Good thing, you decided to feed me or I might have taken a bite out of you,” she told Zachary.  They had been friends for too long for her to play a delicate ‘bread and water only’ miss.  He’d always said that he like the fact that she enjoyed food and had a healthy appetite.

“I should have starved you then.”

“What?”

Did I miss something?

“You said that you might have taken a bite out of me,” he repeated.  “I think I would have rather enjoyed that.”

“Perhaps I will…even with a full stomach,” she promised.

“Please do,” he answered politely, but looked as though he wanted to sweep all the dishes to the floor and take her right there on the table.

Are you crazy, Sam?
she asked herself.
  Why are you making promises you can’t keep?

Bending her head, she focused on slicing off a bite-sized piece of the succulent sausage on her plate.

“This is really good,” she murmured, trying to change the subject.

“Excellent,” he agreed, his enigmatic smile letting her know that he wasn’t fooled and neither would he forget her promise.

Suddenly, from being famished, Samantha could only manage a triangle of whole-wheat toast, the rest of the sausage, a rasher of bacon and half of a poached egg.

Zachary ate heartily, seeming unperturbed by what was to come next.

***

The canopied four-poster bed dominated the master bedroom and Samantha was grateful that she had eaten as little as she had when her stomach begun a nervous fluttering at the sight of it.