Billionaire BWWM Romance 1: The Billionaire's Arranged Marriage (14 page)

Reed shrugged his shoulders. “He’s not any more competitive than any other brother, I think. Why do you ask?”

He looked at her finally and felt his heart slow down and begin to untether itself from his body. He looked into her eyes and glanced at her lips, smiling, talking, saying something in her sweet voice. He lost himself in her, his heart freed itself from him and floated away to her, and she absorbed it, without ever even knowing it happened.

“Reed?” she asked, looking at him expectantly

.

He shook his head a little. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

She smiled at him sympathetically. “I asked you if you would like to try another date. Maybe we can figure out how to get along.”

He almost jumped up from the bench. “Yes! Yes, please, let’s go do… let’s… um, what would you like to do? Anything you want to do would be perfect with me,” he said with a big grin, settling back down on the bench beside her.

“I’ll leave that to you.” She smiled. “Tomorrow?”

“Yes. When can I pick you up and how long can I have you with me?” he asked, flashing a big grin.

She raised one eyebrow. “Okay, how about ten in the morning, and you can have me back whenever you are ready to bring me home.”

His grin softened and he looked at her seriously. “I don’t think your parents will let me keep you that long unless we’re married.”

Jillian blinked in surprise. “How about you have me back by ten tomorrow night?”

“I am going to give you the best day of your life,” he promised, standing up and offering her his hand to help her up. “Thank you for talking with me. I appreciate it.”

He paused, not sure if he should hug her or not, and she saw his hesitation and smiled, turning her cheek toward him. Reed gazed at her and time seemed to drift more slowly as he lifted his hands to cup her face.

He lowered his lips to her cheek and paused before they touched her skin, breathing her in and finding rapture in the closeness of her, and only then did he press his lips lightly to her cheek and linger there a moment before letting her go.

Her heart began to pound and she took a deep breath and smiled at him. “Till tomorrow morning then.” He nodded and left her quietly in the garden.

The next morning he picked her up and asked her if she had gotten his message about what to wear and what to bring.

“I did. It’s all packed in my bag here,” she said with a smile. Her mother watched them with a pleased look on her face as they drove away.

“So, where are we going?” she asked him.

“I’m taking you out on the boat. I thought we’d have a nice time out on the water today, have a picnic on an island and lounge around, then watch the sunset and then I’ll bring you back, after we’ve sailed under the stars for a little while.” He smiled at her.

Jillian raised her eyebrows. “That sounds like a fun day. I hope it works out like that.”

He took her to the yacht and she was dumbfounded with its splendor. He gave her the tour, showing her the lower deck where all the cabins, dining room, galley, bathrooms and the office and library were, and then he took her upstairs to the bridge and the deck. It was an enormous boat and she teased him that they could almost get lost on it. He said he had gotten lost on it more than once and she laughed at him.

He drove the boat out into the sea and placed a pretty white captain’s hat on her head, telling her that she was official because of it. She laughed at him. They sailed for a while, dropped anchor and swam in the sea during the morning, swimming with turtles and dolphins, and in the far distance, they saw whales passing by.

After he let her shower first and change while he showered, and when he came back up to the deck, she caught her breath when she saw him with his wet hair and his sky blue eyes. He really was an incredibly beautiful man.

They stopped at a small deserted island and hauled lunch ashore so that they could play in the sand and lie under the umbrella and eat. Jillian said she couldn’t remember when she’d had a better day, and Reed said he felt the same way.

“What would you be doing if your dad hadn’t decided to make you marry me?” she asked him as they were walking through the surf side by side.

He shook his head and looked at the white and blue waves washing up on their feet, then up at her. “Honestly, I’d be ruining my life. I’d be out getting drunk, making poor life choices, and destroying my future. You really have saved me, you just don’t realize it,” he said, smiling at her and losing himself in her big dark brown eyes.

She smiled at him. “I’m beginning to realize it. Those changes are yours to make, though, whether I’m in the picture or not.”

He stopped her and reached for her hand, holding it and closing his finger around it. “For the record, I really hope you’re in the picture.”

She laughed and smiled, but his words warmed her heart, and she felt closer to him than she ever had.

“What about you? What would you be doing if your parents hadn’t forced you to be chained to me for eternity?”

She frowned and he saw it. “Uh-oh… something bad?”

Jillian looked away from him and then looked back at him. “I was already engaged to another man. His name was Wilson. I loved him with all my heart and we were going to be married, but my mother absolutely forbade me from seeing him ever again and then he called me and broke up with me. He said he found another woman he wanted to be with more than me and it was over. That happened right before I met you again. It was horrible.”

He had stopped walking and was watching her, listening to her. “God, I’m so sorry. You sound like your whole life was already figured out and your parents just came in and changed the whole thing. That’s horrible.”

“Well, my Mother, not my father. Daddy would never make me do something I didn’t want to do. I know the marriage was her idea. Carter is her business associate. Daddy isn’t even part of it, really. He’s off in Japan right now with my uncles. I miss him so much. I hope he comes home soon,” she said sadly.

Reed saw her sad face and reached down into the waves and splashed her, drenching her in water. She gasped in shock for a moment and then the war was on. They splashed and screamed in delight as they chased each other and soaked each other, and she was ahead until a big wave came and she turned with a yelp and he dove for her, hollering, “I’ll save you!”

When the water receded, she was on her back on the sand and he was on top of her, his arms wrapped around her. They laughed for a moment and then a serious look of longing came over his face as he gazed down at her, but then he touched his forehead to hers and closed his eyes, saying softly, “Thank you for spending the day with me.” He started to lift himself off her, but she reached her hands to his shoulders and pulled him back down. 

Reed looked at her carefully, and then she placed her hands on either side of his face and lifted her lips to meet his. He didn’t close his eyes. His fantasy was finally real and he wanted to see all of it. Their lips met softly, sweetly, shyly for a moment, and then she kissed him again and tasted the sea on his lips.

He was incredibly tender with her, taking his time and moving over her mouth for long moments. Their bodies tensed and their fingers curled, as she reached around him to embrace him, holding him close to her. He tentatively opened her mouth with his tongue, tasting hers in gentle touches at first and then they lost themselves in the deepness of a passionate kiss.

When the moment came when they might take their exploration further or turn the moment light, he kissed her once more, softly, and lifted himself off her, pulling her up to him. She was surprised and pleased. She wouldn’t have minded kissing him more at all, but he was the one who was careful not to go too far out of respect for her, and she loved that.

They went back to the boat after a while and showered again, then after the shower, he asked her what she’d like to do. It was still a while before sunset and he was open to suggestions.

“Well, honestly, we’ve played pretty hard today. I wonder if it would be alright to have a nap?” she asked with a shy smile. She was worried that she might be being rude. “It’s not that I’m bored or anything, I just feel a little tired from all the fun and sun, that’s all.”

“Oh sure…” he teased her with a wink. “I’m supposed to believe that from the winner of the water fight?” He led her to the cabins downstairs and opened the door to the master suite.

She gave him a friendly shove. “Hey! Being a winner is tiring!” She walked into the room and looked at the bed gratefully. “Thanks, Reed,” she said with a smile, still feeling guilty.

“No problem. I’ll be upstairs when you wake up,” he said with a smile, watching her as she climbed onto the bed. He wanted her desperately, but he would not let anything ruin their perfect day. She was worth fighting for and winning. She was worth everything, no matter what he went through.

She looked at him watching her. “Reed,” she said softly, “You can come lay down with me to nap if you want to.”

He paused a moment in the doorway, and then quietly closed the door and walked to the bed, crawling into it beside her. She snuggled into his arms and rested her head on his chest and in minutes, she was sleeping. Reed could not sleep. He was wide awake in his daydream and he didn’t want to miss a moment of it, but the salt, the sun, and the sea conspired against him and after a long while he fell asleep with her.

When he awoke, he saw that it was late in the afternoon, and Jillian was laying on his arm, looking at him. He smiled at her. “What is it, little fish?” he asked her, teasing her. “Didn’t you get any sleep?”

She looked into his blue eyes and felt her heart being tugged away like it was drifting in a current, and there wasn’t much she could do to struggle against it. She leaned up and looked at him solemnly and he watched her as she lowered her face to his and kissed him again.

His breath was stolen immediately and he gasped, pulling her on top of him and wrapping his arms around her. She kissed him in moments, learning him, tasting him, wondering at the electric butterflies that began to move through her body as he kissed her back, his arms tight around her, his tongue sliding over hers as he tried desperately to hold back his passion, so as not to overwhelm her.

He was surprised when her curious passions led her to sit up and bring him up with her, so that she could unbutton his shirt, one shy, brave button at a time, until she was looking at his bare chest and he was looking at her, waiting to see what she wanted to do. She held her breath as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders and slid it down his arms. He pulled his hands out of it and cupped her face with them, kissing her gently at first, and then he let her feel some of the hunger for her that coursed through him. She laid back down on the bed and pulled him on top of her.

He was amazed, incredulous that she would want him that way, that close and he closed his arms around her and kissed her mouth like it was the only nourishment that might keep him alive. His breath came rapid and short, and hers was quickly growing shallow as well. Heat built between them, as did need, and it was evident between them both in no time.

The feel of his skin beneath her hands was warm and soft and it felt comforting to her. Her body was reacting strongly to his attentions, his soft slow kisses and his hot tongue as he lowered his mouth from her lips to her neck and from there to the top curve of her breast. He began  kissing her dark flesh tenderly, tasting and sucking as he moved his hand beneath her breast and slowly, carefully, slid it up over the soft full curve, gently squeezing it and moving his thumb over her hardening nipple that was straining for his touch through the thin material of the top of her dress.

He was touching what he had only imagined and it was a precious surreal dream for him. She slid her legs around his and he could not hide his hardened desire from her as he laid snuggly between her thighs. She gasped and her eyes flew open, but just then, he pressed his erection solidly in between her thighs and began to rub it firmly against her body through her gauzy sundress. She cried out involuntarily as the totally unfamiliar sensation of desire swept through her and she arched her back and drew in her breath as deeply as she could, closing her eyes to try to get a hold of herself.