The Billionaire’s Christmas Bride by L. Steele

30

Weston

"You’re not sleeping on the couch." I growl at her.

Dinner had been mercifully quiet. Kirsten had taken Phe and Skye up to get them ready for bed. Max had mercifully tagged along, not wanting to part from the girls.

Which means we are alone, in my room, and I intend to take full advantage of that.

"Excuse me?" She frowns up at me.

"You heard me," I drawl. "Get your sweet tush into bed." I jerk my thumb over my shoulder, pointing at the massive four-poster that occupies the center of the room.

"We are not together; this is all a farce." She glowers, "Have you forgotten that you wanted me to come here to put on a front with your family? I have done that, and now I want some privacy."

"No." I fold my arms over chest.

She gapes, "What…what do you mean?"

"Exactly that." I glance down my nose at her, "We need to keep up the pretense."

"In here?" She glances around the spacious suite that takes up the entire top floor of the house. It also comes equipped with its own kitchen, a fact I had pointed out to her earlier. Why was that? Why does it matter to me that she feels at home in this space? I shake my head, narrow my gaze on the woman who scowls up at me.

"No-one’s going to come in here," she insists.

"You don’t know that. One slip-up, and this entire charade will amount to nothing."

"That’s all this is—a farce." She juts out a hip, props her hand on it, "So why the hell can’t you allow me to sleep on my own?"

"Because…" You’re mine, is what I want to say, but fuck that. I have no claim to her. I can’t call her mine. I don’t want to have any relationship with her, do I? So why the hell am I being this unreasonable? I crack my neck, draw in a breath, "As long as you are here, under my roof, you do as I say."

"It’s not your roof," she growls.

"It belongs to my family," I retort.

"I don’t care."

"You should, because in one second you are going to be breaking a record, one that you’ll remember for the rest of your life."

She balks, "Wh…what do you mean?"

"Just try to walk out of that door, and I’ll have you on your back and make you orgasm so fast, and so many times, that you’ll forget all about the world outside this bedroom."

Her chest heaves, her face pales, she swallows hard, and clenches her fists by her sides, "You wouldn’t dare."

"You know better than to challenge me, Princess."

"I’m not your princess."

"You’re right," I look her up and down, "you’re the woman I am paying to keep me company."

She falters, then pulls her shoulders back, "You forget that we no longer have an arrangement."

"So why are you here?"

She bites the inside of her cheek, "Because…"

"Because?"

"Uh, I didn’t want you to let your family down."

"Bull-fucking-shit," my words crackle through the space.

She winces. "Keep your voice down," she hisses at me. "You may not care about your family hearing us, but I do."

"The walls of this suite are thick enough for you to scream all night long and no one would notice."

She swallows, twists her fingers together, "You’re lying."

"Want to try it out, hmm?" I take a step toward her; she skitters back.

I tilt my head.

She holds my gaze.

I widen my stance.

She tips her chin, "You…you don’t scare me."

"So you keep saying."

"We are here with your family; your sister and nieces are sleeping on the floor below. You won’t try anything with them so close."

"You think I’ll stop because of that?"

"I saw you with them, Weston." She narrows her gaze, "You respect your mother, you love your nieces, you’d do anything to protect your sister… You’re not half as much of an unfeeling man as you make yourself out to be."

"You’re right about that."

"I… I am?"

I nod, "I’m much worse." I lunge forward.

She screams, pivots, then makes a run for the door.

I swoop down toward her, grab her across the waist and throw her over my shoulder.

"Let me go, you oaf," she yells.

I stalk toward the bed.

She wriggles, brings her fists down on my back. The jolt travels down to my cock, which is already erect. Is it wrong that I am getting off on her struggle? On her curvy butt that wriggles so near my face. I tilt my head to nuzzle the side of her hips.

She stills. "Did you…" Her voice cracks, "Did you just do what I think, you did?"

I bring down my hand on her arse.

She howls, "What the fuck?"

"Language, Princess." I smirk, "And don’t question me again."

Her body tenses, all her of muscles coil, and tension rolls off of her in waves. Wait for it. Wait for it. She bucks her body, then digs her knee into my chest with enough force that my breath catches. She lowers her head, buries her teeth in my back. Pin pricks of pain race from the contact. My dick throbs and my groin hardens. I change direction and head for the ensuite bath.

"The hell are you doing?" she yells again.

"Not so worried about waking up the family now, huh?" I chuckle.

"You douche, how dare you use your strength against me?"

"Because I like to play dirty?" Because I am losing my mind, that’s why. The thought of her walking out of here, never looking back… Hell no. My chest tightens. No way, am I letting that happen. And it’s not my ego speaking… It’s the fear that I’ll never see her again. Never scent her gorgeous essence, never hold her curves, bury myself in her sweet cunt; never pit my will against hers. I stumble, then right myself.

The challenge… That’s what attracted me to her. It’s why I keep taunting her, trying to get a rise out of her, and why I can’t let go of her either. What do I want to do with her? I want to get a rise out of her. Revel in her spirit, that fire inside of her that could burn through my past, rejuvenate me, give me a reason to move forward. I want to live fully, to feel for the first time in my life. I want her. Only her. I march into the bathroom, turn on the shower.

"Let go of me," her scream slices through my ear drum.

"Stop that," I growl.

"You stop what you’re doing and release me this instant."

"Your wish is my command." I swing her around, plonk her down under the shower. She opens her mouth and the water pelts her face. Her scream is cut off in a series of unintelligible words.

"I can’t hear you," I taunt.

She kicks out, I angle away, and she tips over.

I grasp her shoulder and keep her upright.

She swings at me, connects with the arm of my injured hand. Pain explodes behind my eyes.

"Fuck!"

I loosen my grip and she throws herself at me. Her weight connects with my chest. I stagger back, hit the wall of the shower cubicle. She hooks her leg around my waist, hauls herself up, and climbs me like she’s a cat and I am her personal scratching post… Fuck. She lowers her head, digs her teeth into my neck, on the side of my injured finger.

"You little hellion!" I grab the back of her neck, tug. She doesn’t let go. I apply pressure; she holds on. Pain shoots down my injured arm and my finger hurts. I squeeze down, her shoulders tremble, and her body arches. She gasps and her hold loosens. I pull her back, lower my face to hers, "I am going to teach you a lesson that you’ll never forget."