Counting On You (Counting the Billions 2)

Daniel rolled to his feet, following me with a fond smile on his face as I continued to poke around the suite. “I thought you might like this,” he said.

I shook my head. “You know, you didn’t have to take me somewhere this nice. I would have been just as happy with anywhere else, as long as we got to spend our time together.”

Daniel grinned at me. “Well, there was no worry about that.” He paused. “I just wanted to spend the time with you.”

I grinned right back at him.

“I didn’t want to spare any expense on this weekend,” Daniel said quietly.

“You don’t have to impress me,” I protested. s

Daniel rolled his eyes. “I think if I was trying to impress you, I wouldn’t have brought you into my business,” he said.

I forgot what he was saying as I found the biggest bathtub I had ever seen in my life. “Forget about the pool—we’re taking a bath.” I stared in shock at the place and immediately turning on the hot water tap. It was hot, but not scalding, right from the get-go. I grinned as I ran my hands under the water. “This is perfect.”

Daniel smiled and shook his head, but he didn’t protest, of course, as I started dropping my clothing to the floor.

I found the soft gray robes behind the door of the bathroom. I groaned, running my fingers over the material. Then, I leaned even closer so that I could brush my cheek across the fabric. “I lied,” I told Daniel. “We are totally existing in these this entire weekend. I don’t care about any of the rest of it. Not even the tub.”

Daniel laughed and shook his head. “Whatever you say,” he said. But contrary to his words, he caught my hips, pulling me close again, his fingers stroking gently along my naked skin. “But really, who needs robes when we can just spend the entire weekend naked and in bed? Or in the pool, or in the bathtub? It’s our own private place, after all. Just you and me.”

I groaned as his fingers found their way between my legs, stroking softly at my smooth folds there. I couldn’t help the blush that spread across my face and beyond, staining my whole chest with a soft pink.

Words bubbled up inside of me, words that I didn’t dare to say just yet. Words about how much I cared for him, about how happy I was that I had given this another shot. I’d had so many misgivings about this, about us. I had been so sure that this was doomed to end only in pain. But Daniel seemed far from the player that public perception made him out to be. It really seemed like he might care about me. I trusted in weekends like this. I couldn’t help it.

I wanted to be scared about all of this. If the media found out that I was sleeping with my boss (again), then there was no telling what that could do to my business future. For someone who wanted to be the CEO of a company one day, that wasn’t something that I could just callously forget about.

But at the same time, I couldn’t seem to keep away from Daniel. And I couldn’t help but trust him when he told me that he was trying his best to keep us out of the media’s eye. Why else, after all, would he have arranged a no-doubt expensive stay for us this weekend at a place like this, where he swore that the press wouldn’t bother us?

It would help, I knew, if my brother and Leanne would just relent on their campaign against the man. But they both still had their reservations about whether or not he was the right man for me. They didn’t know the first thing about that. They didn’t know him. No, what they were worried about was whether or not he was going to be dangerous to me. If I was going to end up in just the same position that I always seemed to end up in, with the wrong kind of guy.

I didn’t want to get my heart broken again. But at the same time, I didn’t think Daniel was out to break my heart.

For now, I relaxed into Daniel’s arms as he pulled me close yet again, kissing me and sliding his talented fingers along my bare skin. We were alone there in the hotel room, for the rest of the weekend if that’s what we wanted. And I ached with how badly I wanted him.

I leaned in close, surrendering to him. Trusting him. What more could I do, really?

Chapter 15

Daniel

I HELD ABBY CLOSE TO me, my fingers finding their way up under her robe so that I could stroke her side. I was still amused that here, in the privacy of our room, she insisted on wearing the robes. Soft as they were, I would much rather feel her naked skin pressed against mine. We hadn’t had sex yet, not since we’d arrived. But I wasn’t complaining.

Instead, we had just made out for minutes and minutes at a time, our bodies pressed against each other’s. We had ended up putting on our soft robes, toppling into bed together, our lips meeting yet again. It was a slow build that made my whole body tingle with desire for her. There was an intimacy to this that I never could have imagined, something I hadn’t felt with anyone else before her.

Finally, I had laughingly pulled away from her Eskimo kisses and called for them to deliver the room service that I’d ordered when I had booked the room. It was meant to be a succulent spread, something to drive Abby wild with lust. Champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, whipped cream, and more. I only hoped she realized just what this weekend meant to me.

Because she wasn’t just here as my girlfriend. This definitely wasn’t something that I would do with just any other woman. No, this was special for the two of us. Something that I wanted her to share with me.

I kissed her again, feeling heat pool inside of my core. I wanted nothing more than to lay her on her back, to strip her bare, to kiss my way across her whole body. To bring her out onto the deck, to that private pool, where we were at once so exposed and yet so hidden away. I wanted...her. I just wanted her.

But at the same time, there was room service on the way, and I could understand her nervousness, given that she was so hesitant to land in another media story opposite me.

“I know you’re probably getting sick of hearing me say things like this, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bed this big before,” Abby said suddenly, looking around at the king-sized four-poster that we were currently sprawled across. She giggled softly, running her fingers across the silky sheets. “I must sound like such a country bumpkin.”

I laughed and nuzzled at her neck. “Not sick of that,” I promised her. Then, I grinned at her. “Just wait until you see what I’ve ordered us from room service.”

Abby groaned half-heartedly. “How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to try to impress me?” she asked me.