The Billionaire Bachelor (Billionaire Bad Boys Book 1) Read online

  It drew a smile to his brilliantly handsome face. “You know a few tricks.”

  She smiled back at him, unable to keep from it.

  “That”—he kissed the tip of her nose—“was a good idea.”

  Merina hummed. It really was. The feeling of lost and lonely had been replaced with light and happy. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this way and could stand to feel it much more often. Reese Crane, as she’d assumed, was dynamite in the sack.

  Not that she’d tell him that. Though he looked like he might already know.

  “No bragging.” She pressed a finger to his lips. He nipped her fingertip.

  “No need.” He drew out of her, taking her sated groan with him, and he chuckled. “Your body tells me everything I need to know.”

  There was a thought. Her body was giving away her secrets without her having to say them. Which made sex a bad idea. She rolled to face him as he slipped out of bed.

  “Don’t worry.” He winked. “I won’t tell.”

  She picked up a pillow and tossed it at his naked ass, burying her smile in her elbow, because watching his backside clench and release as he paced to the bathroom was a sight she’d not soon forget.

  Chapter 11

  The board members ambled from the conference room table, and as per their usual, Alex, Reese, and Tag stayed behind. Alex filled his coffee mug to the brim then lifted and dropped the newspaper onto the table. “Subtle.”

  “I thought it was nice.” Tag shrugged one massive shoulder. The “nice” headline he was referring to was in a Chicago socialite magazine. Not exactly the Trib but anyone who cared about gossip paid attention to Elegant Elite. They were the ones who started photographing Reese with his dates at every charity and dinner function, and they’d mentioned #ReesesRocket on their Twitter feed several times last week. The headline HONEYMOON’S ON! was definitely a step up.

  “It’s flashy,” Alex told Reese.

  “Penelope assures me turning the media will convince the board.”

  Alex grunted.

  “Tomorrow night’s the retirement party,” Reese said. “They’ll see then.” Reese didn’t think anyone would suspect he and Merina were anything but in love after they’d blown each other’s minds in bed last night. This morning had been as peaceful as monks. Shared orgasms had put some slack into the tension between them. Getting along behind the scenes was bound to make it easier to parade around in public.

  Always productive after sex, he’d typically excuse himself to his office, but when he’d come out of the bathroom, his wife had beat him to it. Merina was up, dressed in her stretchy pants and T-shirt again, and pulling on a pair of sneakers.

  “Thanks for the recharge, Crane.” She’d grinned. “I have monthly reports to review.”

  Then she was off, wiggling her round, delicious ass away from him and into the office down the hall. He retreated to his own office but concentration wasn’t as smooth as usual. Typically sex freed his brain and he could work, but last night, his mind kept returning to the wonder that was Merina’s face during sex. The neat little pleat between her golden brown eyebrows. The parting of her pink mouth when she blew out a ragged breath of enjoyment. Her normally smooth, tamed hair a wild mess over the pillow, a few strands thrown over half her face while she writhed.

  Incredible.

  Fingers snapped in front of Reese’s face and he blinked to see Tag’s surly expression and their father standing to leave.

  “Anyway, I’m off,” Alex declared. Only after he’d gone did Tag speak.

  “You fucking did it. You had sex with Merina.”

  “She’s my wife.” Reese pushed his chair away from the conference room table unable to hide a very wide, very proud grin. He buttoned his jacket and Tag stood with him.

  “Proud of you, Clip.” Tag nodded his approval, using an old nickname.

  Clip was short for paperclip, and Tag had started in on Reese the day he put on his first suit. Being teasingly labeled as the pencil pusher back in his twenties had irked Reese, and Tag had been happy to needle him. Now the title held no venom.

  “Careful,” Tag continued. “Girls get attached. They want more.”

  “Thank you, Tag. I’m sure as a man who has perfected the hookup and breakup, you have loads of advice.” Reese lifted an eyebrow.

  “Hey, I’m just looking out for you. There is a reason Dad is still single.”

  “Because he’s focused on work,” Reese said.

  “And there’s a reason you’ve had Bobbie send flowers and a note of cease and desist to every date you’ve had since Gwyneth…” Tag trailed off. “Sorry.”

  “Relax.” He put a palm on his brother’s shoulder. Mom had been a worrier. Tag came by it honestly. “This marriage has an expiration date. When it’s over, so is the sex. Merina understands that.”

  Not only had they sweated out their problems in bed, but she’d also hopped up and went right to work afterward. She hadn’t been clingy or emotional, and was no longer crying in the shower, so he was glad about that. She more than understood what was between them, and Reese was happy to let her use him physically.

  “There are always strings,” Tag said, genuine worry fusing his features into a mask. “Once you’re crowned CEO, she might not appreciate you blowing her off.”

  “She’s making out like a bandit, Tag.” Reese pulled the office door open. “Her hotel will be in her name, free and clear. She couldn’t care less about my position at Crane save for the fact it’s getting her what she wants.”

  The second it was out of his mouth, a niggle of doubt reared in the back of his head. Was that true? Merina wasn’t cold or calculating, and she’d put her personal reputation on the line to help him reach his goal. Marrying him was a great sacrifice on her part.

  Despite his doubts, Reese said, “I’m sure of it.”

  “You deserve to be CEO.” Tag stepped out of the office door, his voice just above a whisper. “Just…make sure you don’t get too attached to your ‘wife.’”

  “I know what I’m doing.” Reese stared Tag in the eye until his brother ran a hand through his long hair and sighed his exasperation.

  “I know you do.” Tag nodded and started down the hall, Reese behind him. Before they crossed the threshold into the foyer, he turned to give one last harbinger of what was to come. “And, Clip?”

  Reese stopped.

  “You can fuck her. But don’t fuck her over. She’s not one of your one-nighters.”

  On that, they agreed. Merina was something else entirely.

  * * *

  Merina stopped advancing across the hotel lobby when she heard her name. She turned to find Arnold’s kind, smiling face.

  “Your cards came.” He lifted one from the business card holder on the front desk.

  She plucked the card from his fingers. There, beneath the Van Heusen’s regal gold Phoenix logo, was her name. Her new name.

  MERINA CRANE, MANAGER

  Seeing her new last name in black and white made her palms sweat. Somehow that business card made things more official than her marriage certificate.

  Because you had sex with him.

  Yeah, well, she refused to feel guilty about that. Already, three people pointed out how nice she looked today, one of them her bar manager who’d commented, “Marriage looks good on you, Merina.”

  If they were in this together, they may as well enjoy themselves.

  “Thank you, Arnold. I didn’t even think to change the cards.” Especially since she’d change them back in a few months.

  “You have your mother to thank.” After a long pause, she returned the card but before she could leave, he spoke again. “I always wondered how different marriage was for women than men.” His smile turned wistful. “My wife had to leave her family and move to my house. Change her name to my last name. And let me tell you, she was not excited about becoming a Woodcock.” A deep, warm chuckle reverberated from his chest.

  She laughed with him and fac
ed the desk. He rarely spoke of his wife. If he had a story to tell about her, Merina wanted to hear it.

  “Adeline was a strong woman, but she was old-fashioned. She said that things were supposed to be like that according to God. A woman submitting to her husband. Did you know that verse doesn’t mean what people think it means?”

  Merina rested her elbows on the high counter, taking advantage of the quiet lobby to listen to another of Arnold’s life lessons.

  “People think it means to come under someone’s control, but that’s not the translation. If a wife submits to a husband, she’s giving him a gift. She’s giving him the opportunity to be a man. Without that lesson, he won’t be strong. Instead, he will be weak and in response, she will feel as if she has to protect herself. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be.” He shook his graying head. “Just because you women can protect yourselves and be your own warriors doesn’t mean you should. Men need a chance to do that too. To protect and love you makes us better.”

  “I…never thought of it that way,” she admitted. But then again, had she ever dated a man who wasn’t perfectly willing to let her handle the hard things? To let her handle everything? Corbin came to mind. He was definitely not the chivalrous type. He had no problem watching her work hard and taking her money.

  Reese on the other hand…

  Her face heated as she remembered him saying Ladies first in bed last night.

  “Love suits you, Mrs. Crane.” Arnold smiled and handed her the business card she’d just put back. “Hang on to that.”

  “Adeline was a lucky lady,” she said with a sad smile. Would she find a pure love like Adeline and Arnold had shared?

  “I was lucky,” he said. “I wasn’t this man before I knew her.”

  That conversation had been a nice reprieve in what turned out to be a hell of a day. Particularly her new bartender, Heather, who’d developed a fascination with a recently hired single bellman who was a consummate flirt. Several times, Merina was forced to split up their conversations and redirect them back to work.

  Arnold had joked about it being “spring” and everyone being “frisky,” which made Merina smile. That theory went belly-up when her chef walked out midshift. Leonard wasn’t frisky or in love. He was pissed at his staff and the world and about a recent notice he’d received to vacate his apartment. He’d stomped out, threw his chef’s coat in the lobby, and left a string of profanities lingering in the air.

  Containing that sort of shitstorm was well outside of her capabilities. Everyone loved a good story, and that drama would make for tongue-wagging fodder for weeks, maybe months to come.

  By the time Reese arrived at the Van Heusen at seven, Merina was frazzled, crazed, and a bit surprised to find his presence brought comfort. She’d forgotten he’d driven her to work this morning.

  “I texted you,” he said, cutting through the lobby with a long-legged gait, his eyes on her unerringly. A shiver made its way up her spine, then down. That look. That approach. It reminded her of being taken last night, the way she’d enjoyed every single second of it. She’d needed to cash in her sexual frustration and Reese had been the perfect outlet.

  Sure, that’s all it was…

  “Things have been nuts.” She reached for her phone and saw three texts from him. Ready? Followed by: Be there in 20. And the final: Here. Coming in.

  “Let me take you to dinner.” He came close and she tipped her head to take in his height. She couldn’t remember the last time she ate—she seemed to remember a packet of instant oatmeal sometime late morning—and had pretty much been running on coffee. Now her brain was having trouble processing, her soaring stress level not having yet begun its descent.

  “Hello, Reese.” Merina’s mother strode toward them, no doubt to intervene.

  “Mrs. Van Heusen.” He dipped his chin in greeting but his eyes tracked right back to Merina. “I was going to say drinks first, but you look as if you need to eat.”

  “You can call me Jolie, Reese. Or Mom, I guess. Since you’re technically our son now.”

  Oh my God.

  “Mom.” She tried to communicate with a glare that Jolie was overstepping her bounds.

  “Did you see your new business cards?” Jolie asked Merina.

  “I did. Thank you.”

  “Did Reese?”

  Merina snatched one up and delivered it to Reese, who took it, read it, and said absolutely nothing. “He has now. I’ll just grab my things,” Merina told him, and then cupped her mother’s elbow and led her to the office.

  “What are you doing?” Jolie asked.

  She released her mother and grabbed her purse and packed a few files she’d need to work on at home. “I’m not sure what you’re up to, but please try and behave yourself.”

  “You married him.” Jolie shrugged. “Do you not want me to be friendly?”

  “Friendly, yes, but fake, no.” At that pronouncement, a ping echoed in her chest. Fake was exactly what this was. At least, on the outside. God. What a mess.

  “Just because I’m not sure why you married him so quickly doesn’t mean I won’t welcome him like I would any son-in-law. We’ll be spending cookouts and holidays together for years to come.” Jolie’s smile warmed her entire face. “And maybe celebrating with grandbabies in the future.”

  “Mom!” Merina nearly choked. “I just got married! We’re still finding our way around.”

  “I bet you are.” Her mother elbowed her.

  If only she could tell her the truth. That the only reason she’d agreed was to secure her family’s future—the Van Heusen’s future.

  “I can’t do this right now. I love you. I’m going to dinner with Reese.”

  “Have fun, sweetie. Love you too.”

  Years to come. Grandbabies.

  Oy.

  * * *

  The check took its sweet time coming to the table, then the valet spent precious minutes locating the car, and then when Reese arrived at the mansion, Magda took more of his time relaying household details he really didn’t want to hear right now.

  Reason being, during dinner, Merina had leaned close and whispered, “How about a repeat of last night?”

  Forgetting his steak dinner, he threw his napkin on the table and signaled the waiter for the check.

  “I meant after dinner,” she’d quietly reprimanded.

  Merina had eaten some of the shrimp appetizer, a salad, and a dinner roll, so he knew she wasn’t starving. Tonight, he could subsist on her alone. So his reply was a curt but heartfelt, “Fuck dinner.”

  Watching her bite her lip sent fire pouring through his veins. He hadn’t had enough of her and tonight was testing his patience. As evidenced when Magda said good night. The moment she was out the door, Reese cupped the back of Merina’s head and backed her through the foyer to the staircase, his mouth on hers. He took the banister with his other hand and walked her up the stairs, refusing to unseal his mouth from hers until they were close to the bedroom.

  They didn’t make it.

  He pressed her against the wall, his self-control dwindling, his erection pulsing. Fingers fumbling, he managed to open two delicate buttons of her shirt before she reached up and finished the job for him, dropping it to the ground and greedily seeking his kisses.

  He liked her greedy. He liked her half naked.

  Burying his fingers into her hair, he reached around and flicked her bra open with the other. Then he freed her breasts, lowering his lips to taste first one nipple, then the next. The sensitive bud tightened on his tongue. He continued laving her, loving the way she writhed and the way her breath caught as he suckled her.

  “Reese, God,” she moaned, her hand in his hair, and arched her back. “I’ve wanted you all day.”

  “Same.” He unzipped her skirt and shoved it down her legs.

  He’d never spent an entire day wanting to see someone. Flashes of her naked, the sound of her tender moans in his ear, had assaulted him during meetings, while on the phone, and whil
e drafting e-mails.

  There was a corner of his mind that she occupied, and with her back into his arms tonight, he could build on what he’d learned—give her more of what she’d enjoyed the most.

  And try a few new things.

  He dropped to his knees and stripped her panties next, holding his breath for the sight that was about to be his. Soft folds, completely bare save for a neatly trimmed patch of hair hiding those luscious lips between her thighs. He put his face there now and slicked his tongue inside. She fisted his hair and tugged, eliciting a sharp shout of satisfaction.

  “No, not out here,” she said.

  Yes, here. His hallway. His house. His wife.

  He didn’t argue, but delivered blow after blow. Lick after lick. And when he found her clit, he sucked, to see what her reaction would be. She arched her back and pulled his hair, and he decided he’d make her come, right here against the wall.

  He explored her with a finger, then two, stroking in time as he savored her with his tongue. She tasted heavenly—the kind of taste you sample and never, ever forget.

  “Please, oh please,” she panted now, begging for release. Thrusting against his face, with one hand on the wall for leverage and the other on the back of his head as she guided him.

  Greedy. Demanding.

  He couldn’t get enough.

  Slipping his fingers into her warm wetness again, he stroked her clit slowly.

  “Come, beautiful,” he instructed. He sped up his strokes, repeating the smooth, slick motion until he watched her eyes pinch closed. Then he lowered his mouth to her again and on contact, her thighs locked.

  Her shouts of ecstasy would have brought the entire house staff running had they been on the clock. Those shouts turned to whimpers as her tightened thigh muscles grew useless. She collapsed against the wall and began to slide.

  Reese didn’t let her fall.

  He stood, scooped her into his arms, and smiled down at the woman now holding on to his neck. Hooded eyes brimmed with satisfaction. Her smile was foxy and slightly embarrassed.

  “I suppose you’re proud of yourself,” she grumbled as he carried her to the bedroom.