The Engagement Game (Engaged to a Billionaire) (14 page)

"Take care of him," Earls coughs.
 
"Please."

"I will," I promise.

Chapter Ten

It came.
 
The phone call I'd been eagerly waiting for and dreading at the same time.
 
Rex was home.
 
I could hardly make it to the weekend without showing up at his doorstep but last time I did that it had been disastrous.
 
I pushed Jack far back in my mind, hoping that if I spent more time with Rex I'd know for sure that
he
was the one for me.

I smooth my pencil skirt as I approach the elevator.
 
My legs are shaky as I push the button to Rex's flat.
 
Last time I'd pushed this button I'd flashed an old woman and almost gave her a stroke.
 
As long as Rex and I were alone I'd be okay.
 
My chest flutters as the doors open.
 
Rex is waiting in an Armani suit.
 
His hair is gelled, face shaven, and I can smell the spicy scent of his aftershave.
 
He's holding something.
 
A box with a precisely tied bow.
 
He immediately hands it to me.

"For you," he says.
 
His first words since returning to San Francisco.

"Is this supposed to be an apology?"
 
Our eyes lock and there is no denying the attraction between us.
 
The energy pulses strong.
 
I hang onto that feeling, desperately wanting it to be enough.
 
All I needed to know.

"It's a start."
 
He brushes my delicate hand as he passes the box to me.
 
It's light and shiny.
 
I pull the bow and put a smile on my face before I even open it.

"Is this?"

"Just open it," he urges.
 
Was this it?
 
The one thing I'd been after for so long?
 
And why wasn't Rex down on one knee?
 
My mind is buzzing in my ears as I open the box.
 
A flash of something shiny gets me excited and I pull out a diamond necklace.
 
Not what I was hoping for but still the most expensive present I'd ever received.
 
I swoon and hold the gift to my neck, moving my blouse slightly so the necklace rested on the skin of my chest.

"I love it," I respond.

"I knew you would."
 
He walks forward and gently clasps the gift around my neck.
 
He's breathing heavily, eyeing the top of my cleavage.
 
His hand slips around my waist and I'm instantly pulled back to where we left off.
 
My back is pressed against his front.
 
I can feel his excitement as he runs his fingers along the top of my neckline.
 
He passionately kisses my cheek.
 
My legs feel weak like they want to drop to the floor.

I turn and kiss him, letting my fingers unbutton his shirt.
 
I'd finally see the sight I'd been fantasizing about.
 
Well, one of them.
 
Rex's hands rub the back of my neck as he pulls me farther down the hall.

"Are we alone?" I whisper, remembering the horror of last time.
 
A fear that left right away.

"Completely," Rex answers.
 
He can barely contain himself.
 
I feel his hand running along my zipper, freeing me of another layer.
 
My mind is in a trance and my body is pulsing as I wait for what Rex has planned for me.

"And-"
 
I can barely get a word out as Rex firmly kisses me again, this time doing me the favor of removing his shirt.
 
His muscles flex as he grabs me again.
 
His warm skin brushes against mine.
 
My heart drums and my chest burns, desperately wanting to be bare.
 
It was happening.
 
Rex and I were finally alone, and our desires were about to take over.
 
"But-"

"Shhh," he holds a finger to my lips and clutches the side of my thigh.
 
Waves of heat pulse through me.
 
I tilt my head back, letting my hair swing wildly.
 
Kat!
 

I couldn't concentrate with the blinking question in my brain.
 
The thing I'd been thinking about for a week was still unanswered.
 
Was this how Rex planned on
explaining
everything?

"Rex," I breathe.
 
He's lost in the curves of my hips.
 
"Rex."
 
He pulls at my blouse and I stop his hand.
 
"Rex, there's something I need to know."

"Now?"
 
It's clear that his voice of reason is far far away.
 
He massages the sides of my stomach and slowly circles farther down.

"Yes," I whisper.
 
I couldn't lose myself until I knew.
 
I had to know.

"Okay," he says, disappointed.
 
He frees his hands, stopping the rubs, the kisses, and the numbing tingles.
 
"What's wrong?"

"It's not that I don't . . . I mean . . ."
 
Why was this so difficult?
 
He wasn't into Holly.
 
This was just verification.
 
He wouldn't be pulling me to bed if he were into Holly, right?

"Just say what's bothering you," he impatiently steps in.
 
I grip the shimmery diamond around my neck.

"It's just."
 
I take a deep breath.

"It's the diamond isn't it?
 
You don't like it."

"No!" I smile.
 
"I love it.
 
Really."

"Is it the traveling thing, darling?" he eagerly asks.
 
"Because there's nothing I can do to change that.
 
This is how's it's going to be."

"No," I softly mutter.
 
"No, I understand that's part of your job."
 
I was delaying mentioning another girl when the two of us were minutes away from having sex for the first time.
 
"It's . . . we never got to talk about you and . . . Holly."
 
There.
 
I said it!
 
I said the word "Holly" and Rex didn't respond to it the way I'd hoped.
 
His face slightly flinches at the mention of her.

"Holly?"
 
He looks away for a minute.
 
"What about her?"
 
The flame inside me dies as I watch him uncomfortably adjust his unbuttoned pants.
 
I nod.

"I only want the truth," I continue.
 
"Are you and Holly . . . is something going on between the two of you?"

"Where is this coming from?"
 
He steps back, fixing his messy hair.
 
"You only met her that one time."

"Yeah."
 
And she won over your crazy mother!
 
Remember that?
 
"And do you blame me for wondering what's going on between you?"
 
I follow Rex to the posh leather sofa in his living room.
 
He sits down.

"Okay," he replies.
 
"You have a point.
 
I do owe you an explanation."
 
He rubs the cushion next him and gestures for me to sit down.
 
"Holly and I met around the same time you and I did."
 
Try, the same night!

"Yeah," I encourage him to continue.

"The two of us talked, we had a few laughs-"

"And?"

"And that's it," he finishes.
 
But that couldn't be it.
 
Holly would never let things slide that easily.

"Are you sure?"

"Kat," he says, cupping both my shoulders.
 
His dark eyes take hold of me, putting me under a spell.
 
In that moment I believed him and I wanted our fantasy to come true.
 
"You're the one.
 
You're the one I'm going to marry."
 
The words hit me hard.
 
It was like a million dollars worth of Jimmy Choos had fallen into my lap.

"You want to-"

"Yes," he smiles.
 
"Kat, you're the girl I've been looking for.
 
You're calm, you're smart, you're sexy."

"And your mom?"

"Will learn to love you," he finishes.
 
He cups my cheek and the electricity between us sparks again.
 
"Kat, I'm going to announce our engagement next weekend.
 
But only if you'll accept of course."

"Yes," I blurt out.
 
How could I say no?
 
Rex was hot, loaded, and I'd finally get the chance to plan my dream wedding.
 
"Yes!"
 
I lean forward and kiss him.
 
This time all my worries were tossed aside.
 
This was the answer I'd been hoping for.
 
The revelation I needed.
 
Who to choose?
 
And I can't believe that choice had been clouded.
 
It was obvious.
 
It was always Rex.
 
I let out a sigh of relief.
 
I'd almost ruined this moment by climbing into bed with the wrong guy.
 
Well we did climb into bed but nothing happened.

I let Rex kiss me and wander to all the places he'd only been thinking about until now.
 
He aggressively picks me up and sets me on his lap, his trousers off and his chest racing.
 
He pulls my thighs again and I let the euphoria of this moment take the lead.
 
Rex tugs at strands of my hair, rhythmically moving me against him.

I couldn't have imagined our first time more perfect.

I wake up in a comfy bed with silky sheets.
 
Rex is sitting next to me, typing on his laptop.
 
His bare arm is flexed and the sheets drape his body just enough to tease me.
 
I sneak a look at his lean body - the body that had carried me through a night of hotness.
 
I smile, touching the tip of his side.

"Good morning," he says, still typing.
 
He pauses for a moment.
 
"Breakfast?"

"Mmm," I respond.
 
"What do you have in mind?"
 
I wait for him to grab me by the thighs and take me on another climatic journey.
 
Instead he looks at the clock on his bedside table.

"Actually we should get going," he says, closing his laptop.
 
"I had a few shops open early for us."
 
He grins, waiting for me to sit up and squeal.

"We're going shopping?"

"Well yeah," he chuckles.
 
"We've got to get you something for next week."

"Of course."

"I thought you'd be pleased?"
 
He stands up, his sculpted buttocks in full view.

"I am," I argue.
 
"Really."

"Good."
 
He disappears into the bathroom and I hear the shower switch on.
 
His voice echoes through the bedroom.
 
"Now come join me."