Romance: What The Billionaire Wants by Elizabeth Ward Page B

woman or one man… nope, Daryl was in my apartment, yes my apartment, with three other women and one other man. An orgy. He was having a fricken’ orgy in my apartment when I wasn’t home.
    And when I found out, he admitted it wasn’t the first time…
    They say you learn from your mistakes.
    Well I’ve learned.
    I’ve learned that the only person I can depend on is myself and my best friend, Gemma. I’m determined never to let another man have power over me again—not my mind, not my body, not my heart.
    I have never made a conscious decision with a man.
    I’ve always been reactive.
    I’ve always reacted to what men want and I’ve always done what they’ve wanted me to do.
    But I’m done with that now.
    It’s time for me to stand up for myself and assert control in my life.
    This is my life and I don’t need a man to control it.
    And what better way to assert that control then to have a one-night stand with a sexy stranger?
    It’s my life and it’s my chance to do what I want.
    I can own this moment.
    “Shut up, brain,” I mutter.
    But even as I’m scolding myself for considering spending the night with a man I barely know, I can’t help looking over my shoulder to catch him staring right back at me.
    And my heart skips a beat under his stare.
    Maybe, just maybe, I can take control of this situation… 
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 2
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
    With bated breath, I watch the beautiful man uncurl from his seat and stride towards me, his body language that of a hungry panther on the prowl, his gaze never leaving my face.
    His long fingered hands clench and unclench, a muscle in his angular jaw ticks, and he licks those lips again as he gets closer.
    Every time he does that, heat floods my veins and I hope I’m not blushing.
    My head fills with air as he gets closer and I have the sudden need to run, run far and run fast. 
    I think I’ve always sensed the danger, ever since he first came to the bar, first laid his eyes on me and let me see his expression change from hard to soft, machine to man.
    But my feet are rooted to the spot and all I can do is watch like a deer or a rabbit in headlights as he closes in.
    “Was there something else?” I ask when he reaches the bar and lays his hands flat on the polished wood.
    “Yes,” he confidently says and his gaze bores into mine as though trying to read my soul. “I come in here nearly every night for the singular excuse to see and speak with you.”
    “No,” The word explodes out of me in a tone much harsher than I expected.
    His expression shuts down, the warmth and even that slight edge of humorous curiosity disappears behind a shutter of the cool, businessman mask.
    “Understood,” His voice is all business and he removes his hands from the back and backs up.
    He’s leaving.
    He’s going to walk out and never come back.
    I’m surprised by how much that thought disturbs me.
    A moment ago, the idea of him asking me out had been the worst thing I could imagine, filling me with fear and panic.
    But the thought of him leaving, the knowledge that he might never come back, is somehow far worse.
    “Wait,” I grab his hand and suck in a sharp breath as the electric pulse of energy surges from him to me.
    I let go just as quickly.
    “It’s not that I don’t…”
    Like you, want you, secretly wait every night for you to come to the bar.
    But out loud I say, “My life is just not my own right now. It wouldn’t be fair to start something I might not be able to – keep.”
    I frown.
    Did that even make sense?
    Maybe he’ll decide I’m crazy and be relieved at his narrow escape.
    He looks at me for a long time, long enough to be awkward then nods as though he’s come to a decision.
    He turns away, pulls out his phone and walks towards the door.
    My heart drops into my stomach and down into my feet as I watch his departing back.
    “Aw, sweetie,” Gemma is suddenly standing beside me, her hand