MATCHMAKER (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (13 page)

He and Jenna were supposed to fly to a lodge upstate tonight. Not in this snow, though. He’d made a reservation at Jenna’s favorite French restaurant instead. They were booked, of course, but Sterling’s money had a way of speaking for itself.

Romantic evenings with Jenna still just included sitting on the couch together. Sometimes, when she felt really close to him, she’d open up about how great her dead husband was and how much she still loved him.

Cherise wasn’t into head games, but a Valentine’s Day call seemed a little suspicious.

He sat at his desk and picked up a pencil to play with. He dialed her number and put the call on speaker phone. It rang once, twice, three times. He flicked the pencil between his fingers faster and faster. He expected it to go over to voicemail when she picked up with a breathless, “Hello.”

“Hey, it’s Sterling. What’s up?” Stupid. She had caller ID. Of course she knew it was Sterling.

“Hi. I know the timing is awful, but I need to see you. I’m sure you’ve got plans tonight with Jenna, but tomorrow?”

He stilled the pencil in his grip. Sterling looked at the clock on the wall. He wasn’t supposed to see Jenna until seven, and it was five now. Maybe having concrete plans would keep the conversation short. Would keep him on his best behavior.

“I’m here now if you want to swing by the office.”

“Now?”

“Sure. I have a few hours.”

“Okay.” She didn’t sound like herself. Sounded scared and tired. It made his heart hurt for her.

“Are you all right?”

“We can talk about it in a few. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

“Okay. Jayne is gone for the night and I’m the only one here, so call from the lobby and I’ll buzz you up.”

“Okay.” She hung up without saying goodbye. He wondered if she’d decided to go back to South Africa. If she was saying goodbye to him. He looked down at the pencil between his fingers and snapped it in half.

He realized he didn’t know where she lived these days, didn’t know where she was, so he had no idea how long it would take her to get here. In the doorway of his executive bathroom he had a hang board to practice rock climbing grips and do pull-ups. He unbuttoned his baby blue work shirt and did a hundred pull-ups. Then he worked on finger strength, listening for his phone to buzz as he worked.

Finally, it did. He dropped to the floor, rushed to his desk and picked up, pushing the unlock button for the private elevator.

“I’m here,” she said.

“Come on up. It’s unlocked.”

He headed out to meet her in the lobby at the elevator. It took a while for it to reach the 98th floor. The doors opened with a ding, and Cherise stepped out. She wore no makeup, her hair was pulled back and not styled, and she wore jeans, a sweatshirt, and a winter jacket.

She looked more beautiful than he remembered.

“Hey,” she said. “Let’s sit down.”

“Are you all right, Cher?”

“I don’t know.”

“Whatever you need, I’m here to help you.”

“Thanks.”

They headed into his office, and she sat in a leather chair. He took a spot on the couch as close to her as he could get. He didn’t reach for her, though. She didn’t seem to want it.

“I missed my period. I took a home pregnancy test, and it was positive.”

Whoa. This was not even on his radar of possible outcomes of this conversation. He didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t think I can have an abortion. I mean, if you really wanted me to get one we could talk about it, but it’s not something I want to do.”

“Have you seen a doctor?”

“Not yet. I just took the test today. I’m so sorry. The timing is awful. I didn’t think you’d be able to see me so quickly.”

“I’d drop anything for you.” He rubbed his hands over his face, thinking. “So you don’t want an abortion. Do you want to keep it? Give it up?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything. I don’t feel any different, I just know I missed my period and the test came up positive.”

“So we’ll get you in to the doctor, we’ll see what they have to say and make up our minds from there. I have all the confidence that we’ll do the right thing.” He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. What the heck would he do with a kid? Would she want him to see it? Did he want to see it? Of course, if she decided to keep it, he’d make sure neither of them wanted for anything ever again, but it wasn’t how he wanted Cherise to stay in his life.

“My doctor is booked for the next two weeks,” Cherise said.

“I’ll get you in somewhere tomorrow morning, don’t worry.”

“I want to tell you no, that I can do this on my own, but I really want to see someone. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to do anything on your own. I’m here for you.”

Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say. “Yeah, but you’re not. In another hour, you’re taking your fiancée out to Valentine’s Day dinner. And I’m going home alone.”

“What do you want me to do?” he said.

“Be with me. Try it.”

He couldn’t. It would never work. He could see no possible outcome other than her hating him forever after she realized he wasn’t the man she needed. He wished she wasn’t so beautiful when she got angry.

“You don’t want that.”

“You can’t tell me what I do and don’t want.”

“I know I can’t. But I know myself. There’s nothing here that’s any good for anyone.”

“That’s such bullshit, Sterling. You’re a good person. Let yourself love another human as much as you love your dog.”

Unconsciously, he shook his head no. The idea was like kryptonite.

She stood up, and he did, too. He couldn’t tell what she was doing, if she was leaving, or… No. Not leaving. She took two steps to him, wrapped her long arms around his neck, and kissed him. She tasted like coffee, delicious. He pressed his lips to hers, their teeth banged together, and their tongues fought for dominance. He kissed her neck, biting her soft, warm skin. He pulled her coat off. She shivered when he ran his tongue around her ear, nibbling on the lobe.

She pushed him back and the leather couch caught him at the back of the knees. He fell, and Cherise pounced on him, undoing his belt, unzipping his pants, and withdrawing his hardness. She descended on it, taking him into her mouth, sucking him deep inside her. He buried his hands in her hair and thrust into her face, savoring her wet hunger. She wrapped a hand around the shaft and teased at him with her tongue. God, she was so good at this. He arched his back, wanting to feel her all around him, wanting to be consumed by her amazing mouth.

He came hard, bucking his hips and crying out, the sound echoing in the vastness of his office. Spent, he flopped back onto the leather couch, panting. Cherise reached for her coat—was she leaving after that? Sterling took her wrist and pulled her towards him.

“You have to go. You have dinner plans, remember?”

“I told you, I’ll drop anything for you.”

He stood up and kissed her, then gently sat her on the leather couch. He pulled off her sweatshirt, delighted to discover that, underneath it, she wore only a skimpy tank top which barely covered her breasts and flat stomach. He kissed her nipples through the cotton, breathing his hot breath on them and teasing them to taut peaks. He’d never met anyone with breasts as sensitive and responsive as hers. He pulled the neckline of the shirt down, withdrawing her generous tit. He licked it all over, returning now and again to give her nipple special attention. He longed to be able to fuck Cherise properly, something planned as opposed to these unexpected trysts. He’d love to pamper her with toys and play with her whole body.

He undid her jeans and found she wore plain white cotton panties. He’d seen her in a lot of lace, a lot of black, but these drove him crazy. So innocent, yet he knew the treasures she kept under there.

He pulled her pants off, leaving her on the leather couch in just her skewed tank top.

CHERISE

Sterling kissed a line from her breast to her belly button. He spent a moment lingering at her hips, finding a spot there that drove her wild with arousal. She was so wet, and she wanted him so badly. Surely he’d see he should give her a shot and they should be together, right? Because she wasn’t going to ask him again.

He spread her legs and slid his hard cock into her. He moved slowly, gently, keeping his strokes shallow and gentle. God, she couldn’t get enough of feeling him all around her. She shoved the
shouldn’t
thoughts out of her mind and let herself enjoy the physicality of their binding—his weight on top of her, his fingers entwined with hers.

It was the first time she had ever thought of what they did as making love. He kissed her face, her neck, her breasts, pumping into her, slow and steady. She writhed on the couch below him, transported to an alternate reality of pleasure.

They came together, like they almost always did, and lying beneath him, reality crept in. How late was he for his Valentine’s dinner with his fiancée? What would they do about the baby inside her? She didn’t speak, because as long as she stayed quiet, the illusion would hold.

She studied his tattoos, scenes of wildlife done in black and grey. Mountains and landscapes inked forever onto his body.

Finally, he pushed up on his elbows and moved off her.

“That was the thing we weren’t supposed to do anymore, wasn’t it?” He groped on the floor for his boxers and his shirt. She fixed the tank top and covered herself up. She pulled on her underwear and wondered where he’d tossed her jeans.

“Yeah.” She wanted to tell him not to make a joke about it, but she bit her tongue. A sweeping wave of sadness hit her. It was foolish to keep doing this. Like, really, really foolish. “I’ve got to hit the road, I guess, so you can go on your date.”

“Hey, Cher, don’t be like that.”

“Don’t be like what? Pointing out the obvious?”

“You know what I mean. Do you want me to call her and tell her something came up? Spend the evening with you?”

Did he really not get it? She didn’t want him for the evening. They’d tried that, being these weird friends with benefits sort of thing. Hanging out. Laughing together. It was too close to what she wanted, and yet millions of miles away. For a while, she thought she could be happy with almost, but she needed all of him. She needed his heart.

Or she needed not to be near him.

She tugged on her sweatshirt, happy to be covered up by something.

“Where are my pants?” Her voice quavered, and she was near tears. He frowned at her, looking so sad. Stooping, he picked up her jeans and passed them to her. She stood up and dressed, then headed for the door.

“I’ll find somewhere to get you in tomorrow for an exam. I’ll text you.”

“Thank you,” she managed before fleeing out into the glass and chrome waiting area and to the elevator that would take her away from him. It had to be for the last time.

STERLING

“Where have you been? Our reservation was over an hour ago. They’re not going to hold our table forever!” Jenna stood with her hands on her hips, scowling at him. Sterling didn’t blame her for being pissed. He gave her a big kiss on the top of the head.

“We’ll get in.”

“It’s Valentine’s Day.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get us in.”

“What happened? What took you so long?”

“Something came up at the office, couldn’t wait.” He didn’t feel good about lying to her, but he hadn’t left himself many options. Standing before him in a classic little black dress, she was a vision. But she was like a museum piece, something for looking at and not touching.

God, he was fucking everything up.

He carried a ring box in his pocket, had planned on doing a big Valentine’s Day proposal with a string quartet, but he decided against it. He needed to see what Cherise did with the baby. A baby. His baby. Probably. It could be Eric’s, so he couldn’t be sure. He wasn’t the kind of guy who’d make her do a paternity test. He’d happily float the bill for Eric’s baby if it meant a better life for Cherise.

They got to the restaurant, and sure enough, they’d held his table. Sterling sent Jenna on ahead. “So sorry,” he said to the maitre d’, “I promise I’ll make it worth your while. I’d asked about a proposal. I’ve changed my mind. We’re going to do it at home where it’s a little quieter. I completely misread the signals. Today, she was saying how a big proposal is tacky.”

“I completely understand, sir. Whatever you need.”

After deciding which salad to order sitting across from him at the restaurant, Jenna happily chattered about her coworkers who didn’t have dates and spent the entire day complaining about the holiday.

Sterling watched the well-dressed couple at the table next to him. The man looked nervous—his food sat untouched before him, and he kept reaching for his jacket pocket. Unconsciously, Sterling made the same gesture, feeling the weight of the box there. The woman got up to go to the bathroom.

“He’s going to propose when she gets back,” Sterling said.

“What? How can you tell?” Jenna whispered.

“Look how nervous he is.”