The Billionaire's Desire 2: Dubai Confidental (7 page)

            “We will have a wonderful time
tomorrow evening.  Don’t worry about anything.  I’m looking forward to seeing
you in your gown.”  He inconspicuously leaned in to whisper one last thing. 
“Wear something special underneath just for me.”  He gave me a quick wink that
only I could see, and walked over to get another cup of punch.

            I stood there speechless.  He
seemed to have this effect on me from the first day I met him.  The thought of
our date consumed me now that the big meeting was over and the work was done. 
The luncheon was finally dispersing and I went back to my office to pack up my
things.  A few minutes later, Samira was at the door.

            “Sarah, it has been so
wonderful having you here and getting to know you.  I take it you will be
attending the event tomorrow evening?”

            “I will.  The dress is formal,
is that right?”

            “Yes, a black tie event,
evening gowns and tuxedos.”

            “Are you going to be there
Samira?”

            “Yes, my husband is looking
forward to wearing his tuxedo.  He hasn’t worn it in years.  I hope it still
fits!”  She broke out into tiny giggles and her laugh was infectious.  We
giggled like a couple of school girls.  It was so nice to be around someone
with such a refreshing spirit. 

            “I am so happy you will be
there.  A friendly face is always nice to see.”

            “Yes it is.  Do you need any
help with anything?”

            “No I am all set, thanks.  I
am going to call my car, go back to the hotel and get some much needed sleep. ”

            “I understand.  I am sure you
are exhausted.  Well, I must go.  I will see you tomorrow evening.”

            “Have a good night.”

           
CHAPTER SEVEN

            There were a few times during
this trip that I had to be honest with myself about how I felt about certain
things.  This was another one of those times.  As much as I was not used to it,
I was happy to have a glam squad on this day.  I wanted to look perfect for
Joshua.  He was picking me up at 5:30 and I was almost ready.  My hair, makeup
and nails were flawless thanks to my glam squad.  I wore beautiful black, lace
lingerie from La Perla under my dress.  And my dress.  Oh my goodness.  Even I
was in awe of it.  Fashion had never really been my thing but it was pretty
easy to get used to the splurges.  I am, after all, still a woman.  My dress
was a gorgeous ruby red, one shoulder, full length silk gown by Carolina
Herrera.  It fell over my curves in all of the right places and the fit was
perfection.  I wore black strappy Valentino shoes and carried a small black
satin Christian Dior clutch.  I was stunned by my reflection in the mirror. 
It’s
amazing what having money can do
.  I heard the doorbell, and my butler
announced that Joshua had arrived.  I quickly dabbed one more drop of my Prada
perfume before going down to meet him.

            Suddenly my nerves went into
overdrive.  I took a deep breath and counted to 10 before descending the
staircase.  When I saw him, he took my breath away.  He looked so incredibly
handsome in his tuxedo. 
Is this really my life?
  His gaze never left
mine as I made my way down the stairs.  When I got to the bottom of the stairs,
I walked over to him on somewhat wobbly legs. 

            He stood there silent for a
moment before he finally spoke.  “You look stunning Sarah.  Absolutely
beautiful.”  His eyes roamed over my body as he took in everything I had on.  I
could see the hunger in his eyes, as they paused at my lips before meeting my
gaze again. 
You are so beautiful Joshua
.  “I have something for you.” 
He held out a small black velvet box.

            My heart was thumping in my
chest as I opened it.  Two beautiful, huge, sparkling diamond stud earrings
gleamed inside the box.  My mouth fell open.

            “I can’t accept these
Joshua.”  I held the box out to him.

            “Nonsense.  Think of them as a
bonus for all of your hard work this past month.”

            “Bonus?  You let me go on a
very
expensive shopping spree.  I would think that was my bonus.  Really, these are
too much.”

            “You don’t like them?”

            “Of course I do.  They are
beautiful.”

            “Then please keep them.  I
want you to wear them tonight.  And the shopping spree was a business expense,
not a bonus.  You can keep everything you bought.”

            I was flabbergasted by his
generosity.  I had no idea why he was being so kind but I would take it!  I
liked this gentle side of Joshua.  I put in my new earrings and felt like a
princess in a fairytale.

            “Shall we go?”  He held out
his arm for me and it felt so perfect, my arm wrapped my arm around his.  I had
never been so happy.

***

            The autism charity ball was
being held at the Atlantis Hotel, The Palm and the room was already half full
by the time we got there.  I noticed many raised eyebrows as we entered the
room together.  I saw Samira talking with a few people and as soon as she saw
us she made a beeline over to us.

            “Good evening Mr. Hunter.” 
She had her professional face on.

            “Good evening Samira, you look
very lovely.”

            She blushed.  “Thank you,
sir.”

            She grabbed my hands.  “Sarah,
you look so beautiful.”

            “I told her the same thing.” 
He raised his eyebrows and had a twinkle in his eye.  “I need to go speak with
someone.  Stay here.  I’ll be back.”  And with that he disappeared into the
crowd.

            Samira had a look on her face
like the cat who ate the canary.

            “What?”  I laughed.

            She leaned in to whisper to
me.  “I think Mr. Hunter fancies you.”  She was trying hard to hold back her
smile.

            “Oh, Samira.  He’s just being
kind.” 
Was he?
  We’d kind of moved to a different level now.  He was so
gentle with me. 
Until you make him angry
.  I had to remind myself of
his jealous streak.  Tonight was going perfectly so far and I didn’t want to do
anything to ruin it.  Samira wanted to introduce me to her husband so I went
with her over to the group she was talking with and she introduced me to
everyone.  I figured I would only be there for a few minutes and then I would
return to the spot where Joshua asked me to wait.  We were all making small
talk when I felt a gentle hand on my waist.  I smiled to myself as I thought it
was Joshua coming to collect me.

            “May I have this dance?”  The
voice was definitely not Joshua.  I turned to see Conrad smiling at me.

            “Hello Conrad.”  I cautiously
looked around to try to find Joshua but he was nowhere to be seen.

            “My dear, you simply take my
breath away.  You look beautiful.”

            “Thank you, you’re very kind.”

            “I’m still waiting for an
answer to my question.”

            “Would Natalia mind?”

            “Natalia has Joshua cornered. 
She won’t mind at all.”

           
She had Joshua cornered,
huh?
  I was surprised at how jealous and possessive I felt.  Joshua Hunter
was not a man that did anything he did not want to do.  If he was “cornered” by
Natalia, he wanted to be there.  That lit a fire in me so I decided to dance
with Conrad.

            Conrad was flirting with me
throughout our entire dance.  He even told me he wanted to come to the States
to visit me.  I laughed him off and played down his advances.  Unfortunately
there was only one man I had eyes for and apparently, tonight, he had eyes for
someone else.  I started to feel a bit sad when I heard a stern voice interrupt
us.

            “May I have this dance?”

            My body tensed when I heard
his voice and I hoped that Conrad did not feel that.  I turned to see Joshua
standing there, waiting to cut in.  I gave him a cool stare as I held firmly to
Conrad’s shoulder.

            “I am rather enjoying my
dance.  So, I am going to have to decline your request.”

            Joshua was visibly shocked by
my response but composed himself quickly.  He set his jaw and to say that his
eyes were brimming with fire was an understatement.  I had never seen that look
on his face.  He was beyond angry.

            “OK, then.  I will wait for
the next dance.”

            Joshua stood on the perimeter
of the dance floor watching us, his eyes burning a hole right through me.  He
must not have cared that nearly everyone in the room was watching his fixation
on us.  Conrad was a complete gentleman and ignored Joshua’s intense stare.  As
soon as the song ended Conrad kissed my hand.

            “Thank you for indulging me.”

            We walked off of the dance
floor and Conrad went to go socialize.  Joshua grabbed my elbow and held a
tight grip.

            “Shall we dance?”

            I didn’t have time to respond
before Joshua whisked me out onto the dance floor.  He held me tightly in his
grip as we twirled slowly around the floor.

            “Joshua, you’re holding me too
tight!”  I tried to wrench out of his grip but he pulled me closer. 

            “I thought we had an
understanding.”  He spat out the venom-filled words as he held me tight.  I
could feel his hardness pressed against me as we moved around the floor.

            I looked up at his gorgeous
face and saw his furrowed brow as passion and anger flickered in his eyes.  I
wanted to placate him so that we would not become a spectacle.  He was so
caught up in his fury that he disregarded the fact that we were now the center
of attention.

            In a soft voice, I tried to
help him calm down.  “I’m sorry if I upset you, sir.”

            He seemed to be shocked back
into reality as he looked down at me.  I felt his grip on my back relax.  He
realized we were being watched and he completely changed his demeanor.  He took
a small step back so that we were not pressed against each other, yet he still
held me tight as if not wanting to let me go.

            He cleared his throat before
he spoke.  “I apologize, Sarah.  I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

            I was shocked at his apology. 
Really?  He was apologizing to me?
  “Apology accepted.”  I hesitated but
then decided to ask the question that had been consuming me.  We were in the
middle of the room so I figured he wouldn’t flip out in front of everyone.  He
did, after all, have an image to maintain.  “Why do you get so upset when I am
talking with Conrad?”

            I felt his body stiffen.  He
continued to twirl me around the floor.  “This is not the place to discuss
that.”  He voice was firm so I refrained from asking anything further.

            We continued to dance in
silence and, as I let the beautiful music wash over me, I allowed myself to
enjoy the close contact with Joshua.  He gently pulled me closer to him as he
rested his cheek against my hair.  I closed my eyes and it felt as if we were
the only two people in the room.  I was so caught up in us that I was oblivious
to the fact that the music had stopped.  It wasn’t until I heard a soft chuckle
from Joshua that I snapped out of my haze.

            “The music has stopped Sarah.”

            I looked up at him,
mortified.  “Oh my goodness!”  Then I quickly glanced around the room to see
everyone looking at us. 
I wanted to shrivel up and die!
  I quickly
stepped away from him and smoothed my dress.  We walked off the dance floor and
went to get a drink.     

            “I don’t know what came over
me.”  I looked at him apologetically as I took the first sip of wine.

            “I do.”  His eyes sparkled as
he gave me a slight smirk.  He was so damned good-looking it was hard to keep
my composure. 
If you only knew what I want to do to you right now.
  My
gaze was fixed on him and I could feel the wetness between my legs as his eyes
slowly roamed up and down my body. 

            “There you two are!”  We were
both snapped out of our heat charged encounter when Jake, Vivienne, Conrad and
Natalia interrupted us.

            Thankfully Joshua was able to
chat with them as I mentally pulled myself together.

            “You look lovely Sarah.”  Jake
had the kindest smile.

            “Why thank you.  You don’t
look so bad yourself.”  I could see Vivienne frown a bit at our playful
exchange. 
Oh, get over yourself!
  I had yet to see what he saw in her. 
In the short time I’d known Jake, I felt that he deserved so much better. 
I
guess I should play nice.

           
“Vivienne, you look very beautiful tonight.”