More Than a Billionaire (15 page)

Her mom nodded. “Wonderful idea. Why don’t we invite your grandparents, too?”

“Sounds good.”

“I’m going to use the bathroom. Be right back.

Kiera ran though a list of her dad’s favorite meals, dismissing those she knew her mom didn’t like, which made the list much more manageable. When she heard the knock on her door, her thoughts froze. The last time she got an unexpected knock, it had been Gray. What were the chances it was him now? If it was, how would she explain that one to her mom?

Kiera passed the bathroom door. She could hear the water running on the other side. Her mom would be back out any second.

“Please don’t let it be Gray,” she said under her breath as she opened the door.

The sight before her would’ve thrilled her the day before or even that morning, but not so much now. Behind her, the bathroom door opened.

“I had another thought,” her mom said.

Kiera turned and waited.

“What if we—” Her mom’s voice stopped, which meant one thing, her mom was going to want answers. “Gray?”

Her mom glanced from Gray to the roses and then back and her jaw clenched. “I see.”

Did she dare lie now? Her mom suspected but had no proof. “Mom, Gray was—”

Her mom picked up her jacket. “I need to go anyway. You’re father is expecting me.” She gathered up the trip information. “Do you mind walking out with me, so we can discuss your father’s birthday dinner?”

Fudge
. How could she refuse that? “Sure.” She grabbed her jacket. “Be right back, Gray.” Kiera followed her mom downstairs and waited for her to speak, but she remained closed-lipped until they got outside.

“Don’t try to deny it. Those roses are from Gray,” her mom said as they walked toward her car.

Kiera nodded.

“You assured me nothing was going on between you two.”

“When I said that, there wasn’t, Mom.” They
had
kissed, but her mom didn’t need all the particulars.

“This is a bad idea, Kiera. You’re not right for each other.”

All her life, her mom had supported every decision she’d made. She didn’t like that her mom disapproved now.

“We’re seeing where things go. The worst that will happen is we go back to being friends. You and Dad won’t be affected. I promise.”

“You’re wrong. Gray could break your heart, not to mention turn your life into a circus. Do you want to find pictures of yourself on magazines covers? Have the media speculating on your relationship?” Her mom opened her car door, but didn’t get inside.

“You’re exaggerating.”

“No, I’m not. Trent and Addie were on at least three magazine covers last month.”

Kiera fought the urge to roll her eyes. “That’s because they got married in January. I haven’t seen Jake and his wife anywhere in a long time. And Callie was in the media in the fall because she had a baby. A baby who happens to be the President’s first grandchild.”

“Kiera, this isn’t going to turn out the way you want.”

“Who says I want it to turn out any one way? Maybe I just want to have fun with someone I like. People can spend time together and not have marriage in mind.”

Her mother wasn’t buying any of it; her expression said as much.

“Think about what I said.” Her mom got into her car. “You’d be much better off with someone else.”

Kiera had no response for that comment. “Do you still want to do dinner here tomorrow night?”

Her mom nodded. “I’ll let you know if your grandparents are coming.”

Her mom’s words haunted her all the way back upstairs. Their different social backgrounds didn’t make them wrong for each other. She could easily meet a man through a dating service or through a friend and have him break her heart, too. Why was her mom so certain Gray would do that? Maybe in another month, she’d decide Gray was wrong for her and end things herself. There was no rule saying the guy had to end a relationship.

The more she reviewed her mom’s words, the more annoyed she got. She understood her mom sharing her opinion, but today she’d gone past that.

Kiera slammed the apartment door harder than she’d intended when she walked inside.

“I’m guessing your mom’s not happy.”

For a moment, she forgot about her mom and gave herself a chance to enjoy the sight of Gray. No one could say he wasn’t gorgeous. Dressed in black pants and a white dress shirt, with his tie loose around his neck, he was the quintessential GQ guy. One who lived the life as well as looked the part.

“That’s one way to put it.” Kiera met Gray halfway, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“I should’ve called before I came. It didn’t occur to me.”

The blame game accomplished one thing: making people angry. “It’s okay.” She touched his cheek. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too. That’s why I came straight here after my plane landed.”

“How long are you staying?” If he said only the day, she’d think about tying him to a chair.

“Until you kick me out.” He smiled, and her knees got a little weak.

“Oh, really? So you plan on staying here?”

Gray kissed her, and her knees went from weak to useless.

“That was my plan.” He kissed her again, this time infusing a little more passion into it. “I arranged to work from home for a few days.”

“No international business disasters you need to handle?”

“My phone isn’t even turned on right now. Any business crisis will have to wait until next week at the earliest.” He moved his hands up and down her back. “What do you think? Do you want a roommate?”

Waking up and going to sleep with Gray for several days sounded wonderful. “I’ll have to think about it.” Today she wanted to tease him a little. “What’s in it for me if I let you stay here? Can you cook? Do laundry? Clean bathrooms?”

“What’s in it for
you
?” Gray gave her a wicked smile, and then reached toward her waist. “How about I make love to you every night before we fall asleep?” He undid the button on her jeans and pulled down the zipper. “Then again every morning.”

Kiera swallowed as he inched her pants down.

“And anytime during the day that you want.” He knelt to free her legs from her jeans. “How does that sound?” He raised the hem of her shirt and placed a kiss on her stomach.

Anticipation surged through her, and she looked down at him. “It sounds like we should go upstairs now so you can demonstrate before I make any decisions.”

***

“I believe this dance is mine,” Gray said, as he stopped next to the stunning brunette.
 

Nadia smiled at him. “I’ve been waiting for you all night.” Nadia put her arms around his neck and melded her body into his.
 

Gray led her across the dance floor. “You look beautiful.” He leaned in as if to kiss her cheek. “Did you come with anyone tonight?” he whispered.
 

“Unfortunately, my father never lets me out alone.” Nadia ran a hand down his chest and into his pants pocket. “But you know that.” Her fingers walked back up his stomach and then over his shoulder again. “One of his bodyguards is by the front entrance and another is by the emergency exit.”
 

Gray glanced at the front entrance only there wasn’t anyone standing by it. Turning in time to the music, he checked the emergency exit. Empty, too. “Are you sure? No one is there now,” Gray whispered.
 

“They were. Do you think they know about us?”
 

A beefy hand dropped on Gray’s shoulder before he answered.
 

“Mr. Danilova would like a word with you,” the owner of the beefy hand said.
 

Gray didn’t argue. Instead, he followed the well-dressed thug across the dance floor and outside, looking around for a possible escape route.
 

“Please give me a reason to shoot you.” The thug pressed the barrel of a gun into Gray’s back.
 

A drip of sweat went down Gray’s spine, but he took a step forward and entered the waiting limo. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving him alone with Nadia’s father and his security guard.
 

Gray bolted upright as the sound of a car exploding filled the room He studied his surroundings. The explosion had come from the television. It wasn’t real. He wasn’t trapped in a limo with Nadia’s father. He was in Kiera’s apartment. His cover remained intact. It had just been a nightmare.

Gray raked a hand down his face. He should have known better than to polish off an entire meat lover’s pizza and then watch the original
Exorcist
movie. Even as an adult, he always got nightmares from the movie.

He grabbed the remote from the floor and started channel surfing. The suspense thriller, that had replaced the horror film had to go. He needed an over-the-top comedy or some sports to purge his dream and pass the time until Kiera got home from work. When a pass through all the channels turned up nothing, he went back to the sports channel. The basketball game would provide enough background noise and mindless entertainment until Kiera came home.

The image of Nadia came back to haunt him. They’d spoken briefly two weeks ago at a party, but they hadn’t danced. She’d invited him upstairs, promising they could get around her father’s security guards without any problem. When he turned her down, she’d taken the news well. Or at least, it appeared that way. He hoped that was true. Not only did they run into each other at social events, but she was also his most valuable asset in Russia. Almost all the intel he got out of Russia came from her. If she took his rejection to heart, it could cause some serious problems down the line.

He watched the basketball game for a few minutes, but soon found himself restless. It’d be another hour or so before Kiera came home. Some exercise would kill an hour, but he didn’t have a gym handy. If he was home in New York, he’d consider a bar a good place to kill an hour. Tonight, the thought of a night out drinking while women hit on him made him cringe. He could do some work. He always had Sherbrooke Enterprise emails waiting for him.

Gray switched off the television and retrieved his laptop. The more work he got done while Kiera worked, the more free time he’d have for more pleasant activities. Activities such as those they enjoyed after her mom had left that afternoon.

Gray logged into his email, but instead of reading a message, he considered the problem with Kiera’s mom.

He didn’t want to come between Kiera and her mom, yet he had no intention of ending things because Annette disapproved. That left him with only one option: prove Annette wrong.

He realized she feared it would put her job in jeopardy, but he sensed there was more to it. A woman like Annette wouldn’t put her own happiness above her daughter’s. Did she think he’d hurt Kiera? Both Trent and Jake had dated enough women and left behind enough broken hearts to form a small army; Kiera’s mom shouldn’t tarnish him with the same brush. On occasion, the media did portray him in a similar light, but Annette had known him all his life; she couldn’t believe him capable of playing with Kiera’s emotions.

Whether she did or not, he had to prove her wrong because unless Kiera pushed him away, he had no intentions of going anywhere.

Gray was working at the desk in Kiera’s bedroom when she came home. She wore her uniform, but she’d pulled out her bun—just like he’d done when he’d made love to her earlier.

“You’re up. I thought you’d be asleep. You looked tired when I left.” Kiera walked over and kissed his cheek. “What are you up to?”

“Got some work done while I waited for you.” He closed the laptop. “How was your night?” Gray pulled her into his lap.

“Crazy. Jean-Paul, the restaurant’s owner, showed up tonight. He likes to make surprise visits to all his restaurants. I think it’s his way of keeping us all on our toes. The owner of the restaurant I worked at in Paris did the same thing.”

Gray worked on the knots in her upper back.

He heard the
pop
when Kiera moved her head from side to side, and he kissed her neck.

“This back rub feels so good. Maybe I’ll keep you here forever so you can give me one every day when I come home.”

“I’d be okay with that. I can put another desk under the window and work from here all the time.” He started rubbing another knot.

Kiera sighed with pleasure. “Don’t tempt me like that. I might force you to do it.”

He’d made the statement as a joke, but he liked the idea. Not so much the work-from-home part, but the living-with-Kiera part. Over a week apart had been hell.

“At least, for the next few days you can have a back rub whenever you want. Or anything else for that matter. Consider me your personal servant.”

Kiera looked over her shoulder at him. “You might regret saying that.”

“Never.” He tangled his hand in her soft hair and kissed her. “Whatever it takes to make you happy.”

She stood. “Right now, going to bed will make me happy. I’m beat, and tomorrow I’m cooking dinner. My parents are coming over to celebrate my dad’s birthday.”

“Should I stick around for that?”

Kiera removed her uniform top, revealing a plain white tank underneath. “Unless you’ll be uncomfortable, I’d like you here.” After tossing her top in the laundry hamper, she pulled off her pants and the tank.

Immediately, his body reacted, and he considered removing her bra and panties himself.

“Then I’ll be here.” Gray took a step toward her. “Or we could all go out. We don’t have to keep our relationship secret anymore.” He noticed the purple smudges under her eyes and stopped moving. She’d told him she was beat.

Kiera opened the bathroom door behind her. “My dad will like it better if we stay here. I’m going to take a quick shower before bed. Be right out.”

While Gray waited, he got himself ready for bed. The sound of the shower running in the bathroom created images that his brain didn’t need. Already he wanted her, and the vision of her naked under running water was pure torture. Tonight, he’d suffer through it.

Stacking another pillow under his head, Gray pulled up the blankets, hoping it hid the evidence of his current state.