Tempting the Billionaire by J.A. Low
Stirling
“What the hell was that?” Rhys asks and he doesn’t look happy.
“What?”
“The kiss?” he asks pointing at me.
“I was just helping her. She’s going through a tough time and I gave her some words of encouragement. That’s all,” I explain. His eyes narrow on me as he grabs himself a cup of coffee.
“And that’s it?” Rhys questions me.
“Come on. How long have you known me?” I ask him.
“You’re right. Sorry,” Rhys apologizes. “I hate being so far away from everyone.” He takes a sip of his coffee.
“Any news on the divorce?”
“Madison is living her best life while trying to eviscerate me in the media.” Rhys tenses when he talks about his wife. It’s been tough for him since finding her screwing his best friend over their pool table in the Hamptons. She started off as his assistant before moving on to more. We all warned him that she was taking advantage of his good nature, that she was a gold digger, but he didn’t want to hear it. He was in love. I hate the fact that we were right about her, and it doesn’t give me any satisfaction knowing this woman has taken advantage of my best friend. Someone who’s a good guy.
“I want to come home soon, but I need a little longer,” he tells me. “I mean I’ve gotten so much work done while being out here. I love that we are strengthening our hold on the European market, not just the US.”
Rhys and I have been in business together for a long time. I started out working for him but as the company grew over the years, he pulled me in to become a partner in his business so we could grow it together. We own luxury boutique hotels around the world. And since Rhys has been in London, we’ve been looking at opportunities over here, and hopefully something good can happen from a bad situation.
“You’ve been able to make lemonade from lemons,” I tell him. He raises his coffee in agreement.
“Let’s finish up and get to work.”
* * *
“Come on girls!”Rhys calls up to them from the first floor. “I’m starving.”
“You know they are having a photoshoot up there,” I tell him, shoving my hands in my pockets.
“You’re right. I forgot how they can be.” He groans. “Maybe we should meet them at the restaurant instead.” He pulls out his phone and starts scrolling. “Oh, for fucks sake.” He turns the camera to me, and I see Audrey’s feed and it’s filled with images of the girls in various poses. I can’t look as closely as I want to because it’s Rhys holding the phone, but I think I might go back later tonight as there was a certain underwear shot that caught my eye. “They are going to take forever.” He pulls the phone back to him. Next thing he is running up the stairs, his footsteps echoing through the townhouse. There’s some mumbled talking then he’s stomping back down the stairs. “They will be out in five,” he grumbles.
“How about we grab a beer while we wait?” I ask him. He nods his head but before we get a chance to grab one, the click clack of heels echoes down the hallway and one by one, we watch long, tanned limbs walk down the stairs. The girls look beautiful, all dressed as if they are strutting a catwalk.
“What the hell are you wearing?” Rhys almost has a heart attack once he sees Audrey descend down the stairs. I think I’m having a heart attack over what Audrey is wearing too. I’ve never seen her dressed so provocatively before. She always looks beautiful, elegant, and classy, and that’s not to say she doesn’t look sexy but it’s in a more classic way. Tonight, she’s wearing a black sheer lace dress that dips low, exposing her voluptuous cleavage. The dress falls at high thigh barely covering her ass.
“A dress,” she answers sarcastically.
“Where is the rest of it?” Rhys asks.
“This is it, Dad,” Audrey jokes.
“You can’t wear that out.” Rhys’ voice raises as he looks over at me for support. I hold my hands up in the air, not my monkeys, not my circus. I want no involvement in this because it is going to end badly for Rhys or me.
“Um, yes I can,” Audrey states placing her hands on her hips.
“It’s her revenge outfit,” Rainn pipes in. “This is her first outing since breaking up with David.”
“We are in the slut phase of a breakup,” Nell explains a hell of a lot less eloquently.
“This is a slut free zone,” Rhys argues back, glaring at Audrey.
“Audrey wants to show the world that David didn’t break her,” Rainn explains softly to Rhys. He frowns and his face relents, but the tension is still there.
“Show him he made the wrong choice with Bora Bora Barbie,” Nell adds. I try and hide the laugh that bubbles to the surface over Nell’s nickname for Dior. I get it, show the douche what he’s missing. What he gave up when he messed around with her best friend. The court of public opinion are going to take one look at her in this dress and all eyes are going to be on David and what an idiot he was to let her go. And I guess there is power in that for Audrey. Even if I don’t like the fact that I know every breathing male in her radius is going to be hitting on her.
“Can’t she do it with a little more fabric?” Rhys asks.
“No,” Nell and Rainn answers together.
“I think you lost this one,” I whisper to my best friend who needs to quit while he’s ahead as he’s never going to win this argument.
“Okay, are we ready? You’re so grumpy when you’re hangry,” Audrey tells her brother.
“Yes. Come on then let’s go,” Rhys grumbles as he turns on his heel and walks out of his townhouse toward the waiting limousine. Nell and Rainn walk off ahead of Audrey, giggling about something.
“After you.” I hold out my hand as Audrey passes, before pulling the door to the townhouse shut.
“Is it too much, the dress?” Audrey turns and asks me, and I can see the uncertainty on her face as she seeks my opinion.
“I think you look good,” I say, staring at her, taking her all in. Her blonde hair is pulled up in a high ponytail, her skin is glowing with some kind of vanilla scented body glitter lathered all over her body. Then there’s those red lips, a weakness of mine. All I can picture when I see her pouty red lips is what they would look like wrapped around my dick. Shit.
“Just good?” she questions me not looking happy with my answer.
Leaning in I whisper into her ear. “I think you look sensational,” I tell her, letting myself be honest for a small moment. She turns and looks at me, I’m not sure what she is thinking, but I can see the wheels turning. Then she raises a brow at me.
“Coming from you, that means a lot.” Audrey gives me a grin.
“David’s going to rue the day that he ever let you go,” I tell her as I shut the townhouses door with a thud.
* * *
Dinner was nice.It was great catching up with my brother again who joined us with some of his polo playing friends. Rhys and I ended up leaving the girls with Remi, which I wasn’t too happy about, and came home so they could go out to an influencer party. It would look rather strange if suddenly, I decide to ditch work to go out with the girls. No matter how much I want to keep an eye on Audrey, I can’t because of Rhys. She’s in major revenge mode and her girlfriends are most certainly not saying no to her exploring her options. And I know men, they are going to smell fresh meat.
Why do I care?
That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? I’m not sure when things changed, and I started to see Audrey in a very different light. It’s not that I have never not found her attractive, because she’s a stunning woman. I know she brought up her eighteenth birthday the other day, but little does she know that she’s not the only one that thinks about that night. She looked so beautiful in her red dress on her eighteenth birthday, sexy, elegant, and grown up. Then that asshole put his hands on her and all I wanted to do was beat him to a pulp. Fortunately, Rhys got there first. Then when we arrived back at her home, she confesses that all she wanted for her birthday was a kiss and it took me aback. I had no idea she liked me like that. Yes, Rhys teased her about her childhood crush on me but the older she got the more she became indifferent to me. It kills me that my hesitation on her birthday hurt her. That I might have inflicted some damage to her brand-new heart. But it was the right thing to have done, not kiss her that night. I was enjoying the trappings of making my own millions, as was Rhys, we were bachelors in the city enjoying everything it threw at us and that didn’t include my best friend’s little sister.
Doesn’t mean it’s time now either.
This is very true. It feels like something triggered in me with regards to her breakup this time. I’ve been around for plenty of them before. Not sure why this one is hitting me differently.
You’re just protective of her because Rhys isn’t here.
Maybe that’s it. Rhys left and that sort of threw everything into chaos, changed the dynamics. I’ve stepped into the role of protective figure that Rhys has left but because we aren’t family maybe I’m mixing up the brotherly instincts with something more. I mean I only have brothers not sisters, so I don’t know what I am supposed to be doing when it comes to them.
Or maybe I need to get laid. It’s been a while, so that’s probably messing with my mind too.
I toss and turn in my bed unable to get comfortable. I punch my pillow a couple of times trying to get my frustration out but nothing’s working. I’m testy. Maybe I need a quick rub out and then I’ll be able to fall asleep. I kick my covers off of me and slide the elastic of my pajama pants down exposing myself. I spit into my hand and run it along my shaft, feeling my dick tighten as the blood rushes along it. My mind wanders to Audrey and the indecent dress she’s wearing tonight. I let myself feel free to imagine bending her over the couch in that skimpy outfit. Lifting up the tiniest of hems on her dress and sliding her panties to the side before sinking deep inside of her. I think about wrapping my hand around her blonde locks and anchoring her to me as I piston in and out of her. Tiny mews and moans fall from her pouty lips as she takes me deeply. She’ll be begging me to help her come and I will only be to gladly to.
“Stirling.” My name falls from her lips, just like that.
Wait, that wasn’t in my head. My eyes fly open as I notice an outline standing by the door.
Shit.
My hand releases my dick and I pull up my pants.
“Audrey, what the hell?” My voice is raw and angry. What the hell is she doing in my bedroom at this time.
“I … I…” she’s lost for words as her eyes stay glued to the tenting in my pants.
Questioning her through gritted teeth, I say, “I’ll ask you again. What the hell are you doing in my room?”
“I don’t know,” Audrey answers still mesmerized by my dick. “I just…” then her eyes meet mine and her cheeks turn bright red as the gravity of the situation hits her. “Sorry,” she mumbles before turning on her heel and rushing out the door.
Shit.