A Billionaire for Christmas

“Lila, I thought you were leaving?” he asks and then a chill sweeps through me. Before I can answer he moves aside and pulls me into the house, wrapping his arm around my waist as if his hands belong on me.

He releases me long enough to shut the door, and I instantly miss his touch. I stare at his muscular back as he closes and locks the door, the click filling the silence. He turns slowly, spearing his fingers through his hair. “I thought you would have been gone already.”

I clear my throat and answer. “I was supposed to,” I confess. “But the boat is…” I falter over my words. “It’s not working,” I spit out.

“Oh,” Alec’s gaze falls to the floor for a moment, and his forehead creases. “So, you’re only here for… how long?” His voice is filled with disappointment and it cuts me deep, making my heart pain.

“A few hours, maybe another day,” I tell him. Why does it hurt so much to tell him that? It’s only been days. It shouldn’t be this painful.

He nods his head and looks down the hall before forcing a smile to his face. “Well, let me feed you at least.”

“I’m sorry, Alec,” I whisper as he reaches for my coat and helps me slip it off.

He doesn’t respond, merely hanging my coat up before turning back to face me. “Lila,” he says and then licks his lips. “You know I don’t want you to go.”

I nod my head, my fingers intertwining with one another but they stop as he takes a step closer to me, filling the space between us. The heat from his body warms mine and draws me closer to him.

“I want you,” he whispers, his lips trailing along the shell of my ear as he moves his body in front of mine, his fingers caressing down to the curve of my waist. And like a moth to a flame, my hands rest against his chest and I lean into his touch, wanting more of him.

He kisses my neck, an open-mouth kiss that makes my head lean to the right so I can expose more of myself to him.

“There’s something real here,” he says as he grips my ass and pulls me closer to him. The sudden movement makes me gasp.

“I don’t think I can promise I’ll take it slow, but I can promise to try,” he says, staring into my eyes. The way he looks at me has me mesmerized. Trapped, even.

“If you just stay, I’ll do whatever I can to keep you.” He tells me words that make me want so much more. Words I’ve only dreamed a man like him would say to me.

I know it’s not logical, and it’s not safe on my part. Not for my career, or for my heart. It’s reckless and naïve. But he’s so right that there’s something between us. Something more.

“I’m afraid,” I tell him, and my words seem to float between us. They’re riddled with the anxiety I feel. Knowing if I stay, it’s all for him. I’d be committing so much to and trusting a man I barely know. But a man who makes me feel alive and cherished. A man I want more from. More with.

“I want you, Lila, and I’m afraid to let you go again,” he says in a whisper. His weakness, his confession is what does me in.

I nod my head although there was never a question asked.

Nonetheless, it makes his expression change. “Stay with me?” he asks.

I nod again and say, “We can take it slow?”

He chuckles and breaks his gaze for a moment. “I’m not sure how slow, but I’ll do my best.” He lowers his forehead to mine and whispers, “I don’t want to scare you off again.”

“You didn’t,” I tell him honestly, gripping his arms and looking deep into his eyes. “It wasn’t you. It’s just this…”

“It’s intense,” he says the words I’m thinking. It is. It’s overwhelming. It’s too much.

“It’s perfect,” he whispers against my lips and then gives me a quick kiss. He breaks it before I’m ready and I find myself nearly falling as he pulls away. A rough chuckle spills from his lips as I touch my fingers to my mouth.

“We’re really doing this?” I ask him.

He takes my hand in his. “I want to,” he answers. “I want you.”

I could tell him so much more in this moment, but I’ll save it for a later date. “I want you, too,” I tell him.

He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles.

“We have plenty of time, Lila. Let’s start with something to eat.”Chapter ElevenAlecOne week laterThe truth and perception are two different things.

“You know the town will talk,” Drew says to my left as I look out over the ocean. We’re deep in the forest on the very edge of the property. My grandfather used to take me here. He said this was the best position on the island, the most powerful. Because it’s where the people come and go.