The Unknown Billionaire (Captured by Love Book 6) (7 page)

She keened, lost to everything but the sensations Jarryd was expertly stimulating. When Jarryd leaned down to suck on her nipple also, she cried out, her body convulsing in an intense orgasm that went on and on.

“Fuck... yes... keep squeezing me...” Jarryd said almost incoherently. His hips pumped harder. Faster. Out of control. Triggering another orgasm that had her gasping for air.

Then Jarryd yelled as he erupted inside her. Loud and long.

It took a few moments before she was able to move and throw her arms around Jarryd’s neck. She rested herself on his frame, feeling like the usual blissful boneless mass she often became after they made love.

“That was incredible,” Jarryd said against her hair, holding her tight.

“And you wonder why I never believed you when you said we had no spark,” she quipped.

Jarryd laughed. “What time do we need to be at your parents’ tonight?”

“Six thirty.”

“Good. Because I need to be shown again and again how wrong I was to have said those words. How about you teach me my lesson in your bedroom and the shower?”

She lifted her head from his shoulder to grin at him. “I need lunch first. I missed breakfast.”

Jarryd kissed her nose. “Then let me grill those burgers right now so we can eat. Then I’m carrying you to your bedroom afterwards.”

“Okay.” She’d love to see Jarryd cook naked. That would definitely whet her appetite for more.

*****

M
arilyn stretched in the passenger seat, feeling languid, as Jarryd parked his car outside her parents’ house. She would have loved a nap after hours of passionate lovemaking, but she was also excited about taking Jarryd to her parents’ home. He’d be the first date she’d taken there in three years.

“You’re so beautiful,” Jarryd said as he turned off the engine. “I love that look of sexual afterglow on you.”

She gasped, sitting up straight. “I don’t want to look like that in front of my parents.”

Jarryd grinned. “I don’t know if you can help it.”

While she knew that Jarryd was only teasing, she still brought the sun visor down to check herself on its small mirror. Considering that she’d climaxed a number of times in one afternoon, she wouldn’t be surprised if she did have “sexual afterglow” painted all over her face.

“I’m sure they won’t notice,” Jarryd said with a chuckle as he got out of the car, then came around to open her door for her.

“Are you nervous about tonight? Being on Mum and Dad’s turf?” she asked as she got out.

“Nah. As long as your dad doesn’t point a shotgun at me for putting that I-had-multiple-orgasms-today look on your face, I’ll be fine.”

She pushed him away playfully, and Jarryd wrapped his arms around her, chuckling as he kissed her forehead. Then he retrieved the hazelnut mousse cake from the portable cooler in the boot of the car—bought from her dad’s favourite patisserie.

Sighing in contentment, she took his hand as they made their way to the front door of her parents’ Federation-style mansion.

Funny how she was so relaxed about this dinner. The last guy she’d brought here was that moron who’d betrayed her. But she trusted Jarryd. And she’d been impressed with him at the restaurant last week. He hadn’t fawned over her folks and neither had he acted like someone with a chip on his shoulder who expected her parents to look down on him.

He’d been great. Absolutely wonderful. She wasn’t even worried anymore that there were things he wasn’t ready to share with her. At least he’d been upfront about having to keep certain things to himself.

Marilyn pressed the security intercom and her dad opened the door after a short wait.

“Hi, Dad,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. She hid a smile, surprised at seeing him wearing a colourful apron dotted with different types of flowers. Her father was one of the hardest-working people she knew, but he would rather eat out or bring in a private chef than work in the kitchen. She wondered how her mother had succeeded in getting him to help cook tonight.

“Hello, darling,” Barry said, hugging her before shaking hands with Jarryd.

“Thank you for having me here tonight, sir,” Jarryd said.

“Pleasure,” Barry said in a clipped tone, eyeing the box Jarryd was carrying.

“Yes, it’s your favourite,” Marilyn said, flashing him a please-be-nice-to-Jarryd smile.

Barry lifted an eyebrow at her.

“Marilyn told me that this dessert is the best way to butter you up, Mr. Grant,” Jarryd said, holding up the box to Barry. “Since I really want you to like me, I thought I’d hand it to you myself. I’ll even go so far as to offer you my slice if you promise not to kick me out of your house if I happen to hug your daughter in front of you tonight.”

Barry’s jaw dropped as he stared at Jarryd, his eyes round.

Marilyn held her breath, her own eyes bugged out as she watched the two men. Goodness, what had gotten into Jarryd?

“It’s this apron, isn’t it?” Barry finally said, wincing as he looked down at his attire.

Jarryd shrugged, grinning widely. “It does soften your aura, sir.”

Barry sighed. “Tell you what. How about you tell my wife that Marilyn can help her in the kitchen while I give you a tour around the house, and I’ll let you keep your slice of that cake.”

Marilyn gasped. “Hey, not fair! I was looking forward to showing Jarryd around.” She was tickled pink, though, that her father didn’t get mad at Jarryd.

“Then how can I give him a piece of my mind without you listening?” Barry asked, deadpan.

Oh, no.
“Dad, he was only joking.”

“It’s okay, honey,” Jarryd said. “I’ll take what I deserve. As long as he doesn’t make me wear that apron.”

Barry laughed out loud, shaking his head. “You’ve got spunk, Jarryd. I like that. Let’s go to the kitchen, kids, or Alice will wonder if I’ve run Jarryd off.”

Marilyn linked her arm with Jarryd’s as they followed Barry to the back of the house. “I’m so impressed,” she whispered to him.

“Good,” Jarryd whispered back. “You can give me my reward later.”

“Hello!” Alice called out as they appeared in the kitchen.

“Jarryd’s helping you, love,” Barry said, taking the box of dessert from Jarryd. “His only condition is that he doesn’t wear any apron.”

“Barry,” Alice said with censure.

“Happy to help, Mrs. Grant,” Jarryd said. “Mr. Grant has agreed that he won’t give me the evil eye when I kiss Marilyn in front of him.”

“Kiss?” Barry boomed. “You said you were only going to hug her.”

“Well, we didn’t talk about relieving you of your kitchen duties before, sir. Just making sure everything’s fair.”

Marilyn chuckled at the incredulous look on her mother’s face at the exchange between the men. “Dad likes Jarryd. He thinks he’s spunky,” she said.

“Well, isn’t it great that you’re getting along like a house on fire,” Alice said to the guys. “But you’re not getting out of helping me here, Barry Grant. Jarryd is our guest and Marilyn will be entertaining him while we finish preparing dinner.”

Barry let out a heavy breath. “Okay. But let me talk business with Marilyn first for about ten minutes.”

“Anything to get you out of the kitchen, huh, Dad?” Marilyn teased.

“So we won’t have to interrupt our night with business talk later,” Barry said innocently.

“Okay,” Alice conceded. “Don’t be too long, you two. Jarryd, sit down, please. You’re not lifting a finger on your first dinner with us.”

Marilyn followed her father to his study, giving Jarryd a brief wave goodbye.

“Obviously, you and Jarryd are getting serious,” Barry said as he closed the door. “You said you started dating three months ago?”

“Yes.” She didn’t see a reason to tell her dad that they had been on a break for a whole two months of that time.

“Aren’t things going too fast?”

“I thought you wanted to talk business, Dad.”

Barry faced her fully. “I’ve never seen you so taken by anyone before, Marilyn. I know you’ve asked me to ease up on Jarryd, but it’s natural for me to worry. I don’t want you getting swept up by your feelings before you get to know him well.”

She smiled wryly. “I thought we were going too fast as well. But it feels right. And I trust Jarryd.”

“It might
feel
right. It doesn’t necessarily mean it
is
right. And what’s your basis for fully trusting him?”

“Jarryd was my friend first before we went out together,” she reasoned in a measured tone. “And you can ask Rick or Lucas or the Carmichael brothers about him. He’s friends with them too. Besides, I’ve never felt more... comfortable or... at ease or... I can’t explain it. I just feel that Jarryd and I are meant for each other.” Oh God, what had made her blurt that sappy statement out?

But that was exactly how she felt.

“Has he told you he loves you?”

She blushed. “I think it’s way too early for
that
.”

“Good. It’s good to wait. Be sure of his feelings for you first. What some people think is love might have more to do with being attracted to our wealth and social status than anything else.”

She opened her mouth to defend Jarryd, but Barry held up a hand to halt her.

“I’m not saying that Jarryd is only using you or that he’s only after your money. I actually like what I see so far. He’s not scared to offend me and that’s saying a lot. All I’m advising you is get to know him better before you start thinking that he might be the one.”

Too late. She was already believing that Jarryd was the one. But she nodded to appease her father. “Don’t worry, Dad.”

Barry stared at her for a moment, then smiled. “Your mother told you we want to make a bid for Well of Brilliance.”

“Yes.”

Barry took two files out from his drawer and dropped them on his desk. “Here’s all the information about the company, and here’s the proposal that we’ll be putting up on Friday to Lorna and Ben Tramwell, the siblings who own it. They’re not going to make a decision until after the new year, but they want to know that our offer is competitive enough so they can advise Greeves Minerals that there’s another offer on the table that they want to consider. Apparently, they were close to finalising the deal until we contacted them. We’ll have to prepare for a bidding war. Fortunately, we’ll get to enjoy the holidays first before that happens.”

“That gives me time to make my decision, then,” she said.

“Marilyn, I can’t see why you’d want to limit yourself to your business brokering firm. You’ve already proven to everyone that you’ll be more than capable of heading a company like Well of Brilliance if we happen to be successful in acquiring it. And if we lose out on it, I still want you back at Grant Ace. What I’d do if I were you is to start letting your second-in-command sit at the helm. Free yourself to work with us again.”

“You’re not gonna stop bugging me until I say yes, right?” she asked dryly.

“Do you really not see yourself working for Grant Ace again? Do you just want your share of the profits without being actively involved in steering the company?”

“No,” she admitted. “I’ve always known I’ll go back to work there. It’s a matter of when.”

“I’d say this is the right time.”

“Maybe. Let me go through those documents.”

“If you’re in, it’s better that you’re in from the beginning. So I suggest you make your decision before we submit the proposal, so you can make suggestions or changes to it before then.”

She could see the sense in that. “Okay.”

“Good! Now let’s go rejoin your mum and your boyfriend.”

She smiled, thrilled that it had been easy for her dad to refer to Jarryd as her boyfriend. “What help are you supposed to give Mum?” she asked as they left the study.

“She wants me to stir-fry the veggies while she grills the salmon. How about you do it for me?”

She smirked. “I’m giving Jarryd a tour of the house. But don’t worry. You won’t have to help clean up later.”

“When did you grow up and stop obeying me?” he asked with faux authority.

“A long, long time ago, Daddy,” she said with a chuckle, hugging him as they walked back into the kitchen.

Jarryd was sitting on a stool by the island bench, a glass of wine in his hand and a bowl of nuts in front of him while he chatted with her mother. Jarryd beamed when he spotted her.

Her heart skipped, excited to see him again. Gosh, she had it bad. But she wasn’t complaining at all.

“Business talk finished?” Alice asked them as she pulled something from the fridge.

“For tonight,” Barry said. “Oh, by the way, Marilyn. Have you decided if you want to appear on
Biz Q&A
? Aren’t you supposed to answer Patrick soon?”

Jarryd’s strangled coughing startled Marilyn.

“You okay?” she asked, hurrying to him. He wasn’t choking on a nut, was he?

J
arryd nodded his thanks to Alice as he took the glass of water she’d hurriedly handed to him. He took large gulps, soothing the tickle that had lodged in his throat from his surprise at Barry’s words.

Patrick O’Neill had invited
Marilyn
to appear on
Biz Q&A
?

Had Patrick found out that he was going out with Marilyn, and was this Patrick’s way of telling him who had the upper hand?

“You okay?” Marilyn repeated, rubbing his back and looking at him with concern.

He hacked one last time to totally get rid of the discomfort. “The wine just went down the wrong way. I’m okay now.”

“Thank goodness it wasn’t a nut,” Alice said. “Well, we should be ready to eat in about twenty minutes. How about you two do the house tour before then?”

“Okay,” Marilyn said, raising her eyebrows questioningly at Jarryd.

He nodded eagerly, keen to be alone with her
.

Marilyn took his hand and showed him the formal living areas first, sharing with him her fond memories of the place. He pushed aside his nagging worries to concentrate on Marilyn’s stories and to admire the property, which really was something special. The period features had been kept and maintained, blending well with the modern, comfortable furnishings and impressive art collection.