Beauty and the Billionaire

I felt the honey softness go out of her limbs as Kya pushed against my chest. I turned on my side and trailed a hand down her dress. My God, that purple dress with a low neckline that almost didn't stop.

"Not like this," she protested.

I wanted her so badly it didn't feel wrong to beg. "Kya, please."

She shook her head, and I was surprised her springy, copper-blonde curls were as soft as silk. They defied gravity without being wiry or sprayed stiff. It was almost cruel how desirable she was.

She sat up, those silken curls brushing against her bare shoulders. The sleeveless dress plunged lower in the back than in the front and I traced a finger along its thin border. A shiver of pleasure ran down her spine. I would do more than beg to have her.

She had hypnotized me the entire evening. Where I normally clocked every attractive woman in the room, I could not even remember what the interior of the restaurant looked like. Kya had me from the second I saw her worried smile. Then, she locked me in with the hint of jealousy when she asked about Talia.

Deep down, I knew I would probably never get Kya out of my system, but there was only one way to find out. I propped myself up on one arm and nuzzled her neck. She shook her head and moved to stand up. I snaked one arm around her waist and kept her in place easily.

"Fenton, please, let go of me," she said.

The hint of panic in her voice sluiced over me like a bucket of ice water. It was true – I could force her. I was strong enough that Kya was defenseless – except for that one tiny hitch in her voice. It undid me. I let her go as if she had stung me.

"Thank you," she said. Instead of standing up and getting out of my reach, she stayed on the edge of the bed and turned towards me. "If I did not know you better, I would think you were trying to seduce me."

"And, what would be so terrible about that?" I asked.

"Seduction always means one party is less willing than the other. I want to be on even footing with you."

She reached for my hand on the bedspread, but I pulled it away. "Well, let me know when you catch up."

I stood up and tucked my shirt back into my pants. She sprang up from the end of the bed and marched over to the mirror to straighten her clothes. Her lips were pursed and her cheeks were bright, so I reached for the door.

"That's it, huh? That's all I get?" she asked.

"You stopped me, remember?"

"I suppose you're right, I don't deserve anything more. Just one sloppy seduction attempt, and when it doesn't work, I get dropped for an easier target," she said.

I stopped with my fingers flexed tight around the door handle. "What do you want, Kya?"

"Right, of course, it's totally unreasonable of me to want to be more than a challenge to you," she said. "If I want to mean more to someone than a locker room story, then no one's interested."

"It's not like that," I told her. My fingers slipped off the door handle. There was a bright emerald glint to her eyes I had never seen before, and it hurt me.

Kya refused to cry. "I know there are bets made behind my back. I know why men like you are nice to me."

"Men like me?"

"Athletes, stars, clients. Men who find it fun to flirt with me, try to take on the challenged in hopes of rubbing it in their buddies' faces." Kya lunged past me and whipped open the door.

"Who does that to you? Other clients?" I asked. My fingers curled into a fist.

"Please, as if you weren't just doing the exact same thing." She shoved me out the door and slammed it in my face.

She was stronger than she looked. And, there was no way she was going to open the door again. I leaned my forehead against it. There were a million little things I could say, but she would not believe any of them. I had tried to seduce her and I had failed. Everything Kya said about men like me was correct.

I shut my eyes and my childhood daydream flashed into my mind. I was playing in my big backyard with my children while my wife watched from the patio. It was dusk and the lights of our house illuminated the yard. We could play until the stars came out and there was nothing to worry about.

Now, the only thing I worried about was how when my imaginary wife looked at me, it was Kya's green eyes that I saw.

I smacked the thought away, hitting the door harder than I intended. It did not matter. I could not have Kya. I could not have anyone yet. If I could not provide for my family one hundred times over and never have to worry, then I could not have one at all. Kya would understand, but I would never tell her. Instead, I would lose her and keep on going alone.

I punched the elevator button and paced until the doors opened on the main casino. I stepped out only to narrowly miss an amateur kick to my chin.