Maid for the Billionaire (13 page)

Dominic shifted uncomfortably beneath her.
“When you look at me like that, I almost believe I could be the man
you think I am. It’s not that simple, though. People don’t get a
shot at that kind of redemption.”

Abby pulled his head down and whispered
against his lips, “I have to believe they do.”

He groaned against her lips, keeping the kiss
feather light, as he fought some internal battle. His hands held
her just below her shoulders, held her like he was afraid she’d
pull away. “What great wrong have you done, little one?”

Abby’s hands dropped to her lap. This was the
perfect time to tell him that she had withheld information from him
partly out of fear and partly out of selfishness.

Just say it.

What if Zhang is right and he doesn’t believe
me? Am I ready to lose him tonight?

She opened her mouth to tell him, but stopped
at the expression in his eyes. When they settled on hers, dark with
emotion, she could almost imagine that his next words were going to
be a declaration of some kind.

I am going to tell him, I just need a
little more time.
She said, “I did everything wrong after my
parents died. I thought that if I sounded like I knew what I was
doing, Lil would feel more secure. But when Lil needed me the most,
I lectured and judged instead of listening to her. I treated her
like she was unable to make good decisions on her own. My actions
ate away at her self-confidence which only took more of a beating
from me each time she made another mistake. Mistakes that I helped
push her toward. I see that now. If I hadn’t met you, I might have
lost her. I have to believe that I’ll have a second chance to get
it right…to make things right.”

He buried his face in her neck. “Lady, you
scare the hell out of me.”

She looked up at him in surprise. “I thought
you said I calmed you.”

He eased her off his lap and stood, running
his hand through his hair with frustration. “It was selfish of me
to bring you to China. I don’t want you to think …”

Despite the sinking dread in her heart, she
walked over and silenced him gently with her finger. I’m a big
girl. I stopped believing in happily ever after a long time ago.
“It’s ok, Dominic…”

He took her hand in his and scowled down at
her. “What exactly is ok?”

She disentangled their hands and forced
herself to meet his stormy eyes. “You don’t have to worry that I’ll
make a scene when we go back to the states. I won’t regret this
trip, Dominic, no matter what happens between us when we return.”
And that’s the truth. It has to be.

His expression grew darker, exhibiting none
of the relief she’d expected in response to her statement. The
incredible male ego! So, it was alright for him to warn her not to
think that this trip was more than a casual fling, but not for her
accept it?

Did you think I’d fall at your feet and
beg you to stay, Dominic? You’ve got a lot to learn about Dartley
women.
Abby said, “Take it as a compliment, Dominic. You’ll be
the man I measure my future dates against.”

He took both of her upper arms in his hands
and held her immobile before him with a gentle touch that was in
direct conflict with the steel in his eyes. He looked like he
wanted to say something.

For just a moment, Abby let herself hope.
Could he be jealous of the mere thought of her with another man?
The thought had her heart jumping wildly in her chest.

What would it be like to be loved by an
intense man like Dominic?
No, stop it. Dominic is the
transitional man, the inspiration to hold out for the real thing.
Men like Dominic don’t settle down.

Or did they?

He wasn’t like any man she’d ever met. They
would have crumbled beneath the financial and emotional pressure
his father had applied. He hadn’t let ultimatums stop him from
looking for his mother, not even when it had meant losing his
inheritance. That spoke to the strength of his character. His
subsequent financial success revealed a tenaciousness that Abby
couldn’t help but admire. Dominic went after what he wanted,
regardless of the risk.

But could he want the kind of life Abby
needed? She craved the warmth of her parents’ marriage. Somehow it
was difficult to imagine Dominic helping her plan their child’s
first birthday party. Where would someone like her fit into his
fast paced life?

She laid a soft hand on his chest, instantly
becoming distracted by the tight muscle she felt there. “You don’t
have to say anything, Dominic. I’m actually grateful for this
trip.”

“I don’t want your gratitude,” he growled,
pulling her against him and leaving little question as to what he
did want.

Maybe he didn’t love her, but he did want
her. There was no denying the urgency of the excitement stretching
his pants’ seams. She doubted even Dominic knew what the future
held for them when they returned to the US.

So, stop over-thinking it and just enjoy
yourself for a change.

He might not be hers forever, but he was hers
tonight. Abby slowly unbuttoned her shirt and let it fall to the
floor behind her. “Ever since I walked into this suite, I’ve been
wondering why someone would put a bathtub right in the middle of
the living room.”

An entirely different expression chased away
Dominic’s earlier irritation. He flashed her a smile she was
starting to recognize as proof that she could muddle his thoughts
as quickly as he could hers.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're not as
tired as I thought?" he asked huskily.

Abby squirmed against him and was rewarded by
a jerking movement that made her want to reach down and release
him, but she knew how to get him even more excited. "I’m not sure
what you mean,” she said and took a teasing half step backwards

He advanced as she retreated one sultry step
at a time until they were clearly headed for the bedroom. His shirt
lay discarded behind them along with his belt which had quickly
followed. "What are you doing to me?” he whispered. “Even in the
midst of the negotiations, I pictured you here, waiting for me and
I could barely concentrate on the concessions they were
suggesting." The back of her legs hit the side of the bed. His
kisses moved down her neck and across her shoulder.

“So, no bath?” she gurgled with pleasure as
his evening whiskers tickled the sensitive flesh he revealed with
each article of her clothing he removed. His mouth was driving her
over the edge.

“Later,” he mumbled against one breast before
taking her nipple gently into his mouth. He suckled, lightly
nipped, and circled her excited tip with his tongue. When she
thought she couldn’t take anymore, he moved his attention to her
other breast, repeating the process until she was panting beneath
him.

His tongue followed the curve of her softly
rounded stomach until it met the fabric of her pants. He knelt
swiftly, never lifting his lips from her skin as he slid her pants
and lace thong down. Unimpeded by clothing, he gently parted her
lower lips and thrust his tongue inside her. At the hot rhythm of
this intimate caress, Abby’s knees buckled beneath her. Dominic
caught her easily, guiding her back to rest against the mattress
and parting her legs further to allow him greater access to
her.

She writhed and grabbed handfuls of the
sheets beneath her. He was relentless in his attention to her
pleasure. He plunged, licked with excruciating accuracy and
tantalized her further with strong hands that knew just how to move
her beneath him to drive her wild. His hands clenched on her
buttocks as her cries of release filled the room. He turned his
face to kiss her inner thigh as shudders racked her body.

He stood, swiftly unbuttoned his pants and
stepped out of them in one smooth move. She should have felt
vulnerable, lying there on the bed, fully exposed to him, but
instead she felt powerful, liberated. His need for her held him
rock hard above her and, if only for a moment, completely at her
mercy. “Tell me you thought about this, too,” he said in a ragged
voice.

Abby rolled backwards onto the bed into the
pile of pillows. “Well, I was really busy,” she said coyly,
lowering her lashes in blatant flirtation.

He pounced like a jungle cat, pinning her
neatly beneath him. One hand slid down the curve of her waist and
he dipped a finger into her moist center. “Little liar,” his breath
was hot on her neck.

His wandering lips curved into a smile at her
sharply indrawn breath. Whatever witty comeback she’d planned was
lost as his finger mimicked the rhythm his tongue had brought her
to climax with earlier. He poised himself above her, staring down
into her desire glazed eyes and said, “There won’t be other men,”
and he entered her in a swift thrust. His words barely registered
as his thrusts elicited wave after wave of pleasure in her. She
rocked against him, letting her sounds of her climax echo through
the room.

Hardly recovered, she felt herself tighten as
he withdrew, teased her with his hard tip, and held her eyes as he
plunged deep within her again. He knew just when to take them
forward and when to pause long enough for the intensity to
heighten. She knew just when to do the same. He shuddered against
her as the both came and collapsed into each other’s arms.

Spent, they lay with their legs entwined,
their breathing slowing in union for a blissful eternity. Too soon,
Dominic pulled a sheet up over them, rolled onto his side, and
propped himself on one elbow so he could study her face. His eyes
were dark with emotion. “I don’t want to hurt you, Abby.”

Which was probably his way of saying she
shouldn’t read too much importance into what he said in the heat of
passion. She wasn’t ready to have that talk again yet. She ran a
finger lightly over his bottom lip and answered simply, “Then
don’t.”

He opened his mouth to say something she was
certain she didn’t want to hear and she reacted instinctively. With
a hand on his chest, she rolled him playfully onto his back and
began to kiss him. There would be plenty of time to talk tomorrow.
Plenty of time tomorrow for the fairytale to come to an end as they
each said the words that were better withheld tonight.

Unlike Cinderella, Abby had till dawn to
enjoy the rest of her fantasy. Whatever Dominic was going to say
was quickly forgotten as her kisses trailed down his chest and
continued lower.

Chapter Fourteen

Dominic was gone by the time Abby woke up in
the morning.

Crap.

She rushed to shower and change. She picked
up the phone several times to call Dominic, only to replace it
without dialing his number. There was no way to know which stage of
the negotiations he was in or if he could even take a call and she
wasn’t willing to risk being the reason he lost this contract.

I should have told him last night.

If not before the great sex that she would
tuck away in her memories as the best of her lifetime, at least she
should have told him before they’d fallen asleep in each other’s
arms. By not doing so, she’d put herself in overwhelming situation
of having to decide for herself how to handle Zhang.

Dave, one of Scott’s security team, asked her
if she was ok.

OK? No, not ok. But I can’t turn to you,
either
.

Abby said, “Just hungry.”

Zhang had said that whatever she was going to
show Abby would help Dominic, but there was no way to know if her
claim was true. What if it was all simply a ploy to manipulate the
negotiations as Dominic had warned that someone might try?

Abby chewed her lower lip while her inner
debate raged on. Normally she trusted her instincts about people
and her gut told her that she could trust Zhang. Coming to a final
decision, Abby swung her small purse onto her shoulder and told
Dave that she wanted to have breakfast in the main dining area for
a change. She didn’t wait for him to finish radioing the rest of
his team with the news; she opened the suite’s outer door and took
advantage of her head start.

She made it to the lobby before Scott and his
men became suspicious, rushing toward her when Zhang’s driver
approached and introduced himself. He escorted her through the
hotel lobby and out the front door even as Scott and his men closed
in around them. Scott grabbed her by her arm outside of the limo,
his agitation evident in his uneven breathing. "This is a bad
idea.”

"You're the one who said that Zhang was well
known and not dangerous." Abby reminded him. No matter what he said
she was now determined to see for herself how she might help
Dominic.

He motioned for his men to surround her.
"Yes, to have tea with at our hotel. Not this. I don't feel good
about this."

What a change one day could make. Yesterday,
before she’d heard these men discuss their deception, she would
have heeded his advice without question. Now he was nothing more
than an obstacle between her and the truth. She tugged at her
imprisoned arm. "I'm going. Call Dominic if you want, but unless
you're prepared to participate in a very public international
brawl, I'd suggest you let me go."

"I thought you were more sensible than this,
Abby." He said in reproach, not yet releasing her.

“First impressions are often wrong,” she
said, wishing she could toss back at him that she knew all about
his questionable loyalty, but she was smart enough to keep that bit
of information to herself. Instead, she yanked her arm out of his
grasp and slid into the open door of Zhang’s limo, leaving him to
scramble to gather his team to accompany them.

After a short scuffle between the two
separate security entourages, some sort of temporary truce was
called and the billionaire's limo pulled into traffic, safely
sandwiched between several SUVs of mixed loyalty.

Zhang looked every bit a business woman in
her crisp, dark pants suit. Her shiny black hair swung down to
partially cover her face as she placed some papers into a soft
sided briefcase near her feet. Unceremoniously, she removed her
glasses and tucked them neatly into the side pocket of her bag,
never taking her eyes off Abby as she scooted onto the seat across
from her.