His to Have: A Billionaire Romance (10 page)

I pull back from the kiss. “You’re not getting out of the game that easily.”

Blake flashes that smile and says he knows a hustle when he sees one and challenges me to a full game. “Loser pays for the drinks.”
 

“Your sister said the drinks are covered,” I reply.

“Loser finds some other way to make it up.” I know what he’s thinking.

We play, and I barely win. Blake’s good, but I’m just a little bit better. “Double or nothing,” he says, walking back up to the board and erasing the scores.

“You sure you want that?” I ask.
 

He nods. And then he smokes me. The second game is over with lightning speed. “You were holding back on me!” I say.

“You seemed so proud of yourself. I didn’t want to burst your bubble. Now let’s go and I’ll think of ways you can pay your debt.”

I stop him. “There’s something I need to tell you before we go back. I think you’re in trouble.”

“Is this good trouble or bad trouble?” he asks.
 

“It’s serious.” I place my hand on his chest. “I can’t let the night go on without telling you.”

“Who talked to you?”
 

“An old friend. He works for the FBI.”

“Ben?” Blake says.

I feel like my blood has turned to sand and my heart has stopped. “You know?” I ask.

“A lot of people are trying to get to me in a lot of ways. Your friend is just one of the many means they’re trying to use. I’ve had Damien approach him to open a dialogue. I have nothing to hide from the government and nothing to hide from you. Can we talk about this tomorrow? I feel like things were going well. I felt like we were really starting to get somewhere.”

“He said you weren’t who you say you are.”

“This is who I am, Cat. So is the apartment in Manhattan. I fought my way through school, and I fought my way into a job at Carlisle Capital, and then I set out on my own. I’ve worked honestly for every dollar I’ve ever earned. There are things in my past that I’ve tried to keep in the past, but you’ll have to trust me when I tell you that I’ve only ever tried to do the right thing.”

“He said they’re going to arrest you, that they’re going to search your place. He said you’re hiding documents. I can help you, whatever it is that you’ve done. We shouldn’t go back to your place, not tonight.”

“Good, I don’t think we should either. There’s something I want to show you.

“What is it?” I ask.
 

He goes back to the table and grabs his drink, taking a long sip. “It’s the best view in New York.”
 

“Don’t you think we should take a minute to, I don’t know, talk about whether or not you’re getting arrested?”
 

“I promise you, once you see this place, you’ll understand. It’s not far.” Blake takes my hand and leads me back through the crowd and out of the bar. He’s quiet as we walk, and the night has gotten cooler since we first went into the bar, but Blake’s hand is warm and his grip is firm. I hold his hand tight and lean my head against his shoulder.
 

I don’t know where we’re going, but this is a far cry from the Upper East Side. The area is industrial, and a few of the streetlights are out. I take note of the buildings. There’s an old boiler factory and a few warehouses. Soon we’re walking along a chain link fence. Blake stops at a break in the fence and motions to an alley. “We’re here,” he says.
 

I look up and see an old brick building that stretches down the block. It’s three or four stories tall and has “BOROUGH ICE” written in big light up letters along the side, except the lights are all off. I can see the river in the distance beyond the corner of the building. I notice the reflections of the Manhattan skyline before I look up to actually see the skyscrapers rising in the distance. Blake pulls a key out of his pocket and places it in my hand. It’s the key. I know it. He leads me up a small staircase and pulls open a large door. Just beyond it, there’s a smaller door. I step up and put the key into its lock, and then we’re inside.

He flicks on a light and I see a small staircase heading up. At the top of the stairs, there’s a number pad, and Blake punches in a code. “I’ve made a few security enhancements, but I could never bring myself to get rid of the place.” He pushes the door open. “You wanted to know more about me? Well, this was the closest thing I’ve ever had to a real home. The loft is dark, but the city lights in the distance are bright enough that I can make out the entire floorplan.
 

“You lived here?” I ask.
 

“There were ten illegal lofts in this building before I bought it. This is the only one remaining. Call me sentimental, but I can’t let it go. Even after I bought the penthouse, I couldn’t imagine saying goodbye to this place.”

There are crooked bookshelves and a futon at one end, a small kitchenette, a couple of old couches and stacks of boxes, but it’s hard to pay attention to anything other than the view. It’s incredible, breathtaking, the kind of view that’s just impossible to get from inside Manhattan itself. You can see the bridges stretching across the river and the sea of lights that reflect from the buildings in the distance.

“Stay right there,” Blake says. He goes into the kitchen and lights a candle. He pulls a bottle of wine out from a cabinet. “This is where I dreamed my biggest dreams.” He uncorks the bottle and walks over, wine in one hand, candle in the other. “Now my only dream is you. Things might get complicated for us soon, and I wanted to have this night together. I wanted you to know how much you mean to me. When I met you, I wasn’t looking for you. Or maybe I was, and I just didn’t know it yet, but now I’ve found you, and I don’t want to ever give you up.”

“I don’t want to give you up either.” I take the bottle and take a sip. If we’re being bohemian, I figure why not.

Blake laughs. “I was going to get glasses, but I think I like your way better.” He places the candle down on a rough-hewn coffee table. It throws a soft glow over his face.

I’ve been on dates that cost the GDP of a small nation, and still, none of them were as romantic as this candle and bottle of wine. Blake nuzzles my cheek and kisses me. As soon as his lips meet mine, I feel a rush. It’s not just the low flame of excitement I feel whenever he kisses me. It’s something more, something behind the eyes, emotion welling up inside me. I need him in a way I hadn’t known possible, deeply and completely. I place the wine down as we tumble onto the couch. Or at least I think it’s a couch. I’m too caught up in my desire to notice. I just know that I’m tearing at Blake’s clothing and he’s tearing at mine, and I want to feel him against me.

His hands are over my hips and then he’s pulling at my belt. He was much smoother when I had a dress on. He laughs as he finally gets the belt and pulls it off.
 
“Jeans were a terrible idea,” he whispers.
 

I pull his shirt off and run my hand over his abs. “Your terrible idea,” I say. He kisses me and his lips are warm and sweet and that warmth just melts right through me. I can taste the wine on his tongue or maybe it’s mine.
 
Blake leans back onto the futon, and it doesn’t even cross my mind that I’m about to have sex on a futon or that this should all be distinctly unromantic. Instead, in the candlelight, I feel like I’m seeing him for the first time.

Then he slips my jeans down my hips and I feel his hands against my bare skin. He kisses my neck, runs a hand up my back, pulling my shirt up over my shoulders. There’s something more intimate about the way he runs his fingers through my hair and kisses my neck. Maybe intimate is wrong, every time we’ve slept together has been intimate, this time just feels more natural, less purposeful, like this isn’t just about sex or enjoyment, like he’s giving into a deeper need, our deeper need. He slips his hand under my bra and cups my breast as I undo the clasp. He kisses my collarbone, my neck, my earlobe. I can hear his breath rise and fall as he grinds against me. I tremble with delight as he leans in and kisses my breasts.

He slides his hand between my legs and slides a finger against my clit and I moan. “I need you,” I tell him. I roll my hips against him. He reaches down, pulls a condom from his pocket and hands it to me. I tear the wrapper and press the condom over his length. Something about the motion of sliding it down his cock makes me that much more eager to feel him inside me. When it’s fully on, I rub his length and push him against my core.

Slowly, he pushes himself in. I wrap my arms around him, as if I’m holding on for dear life. My lips meet his, and we kiss as we lock our bodies together. I need him, not just his cock or his body or his wicked tongue. I need him. I look into his eyes and I see that same need, that same connection. This is so much more than just sex. In this moment, I am his and he is mine. Our breaths overlap, our hearts beat in time. Every movement, every kiss, every thrust, every scrape of fingernails against skin is perfect as we drive each other to completion, and for the moment, I forget that nothing perfect can last.

I fall asleep in Blake’s arms. I don’t know what the morning will bring, and I don’t care. At least for this moment, everything is simple and right.

CHAPTER 14
 

CATHERINE

The next morning, we sleep in. Bright light filters in through the windows. They’ve got a layer of dirt on them, but it’s not enough to keep the light from hurting my eyes. Blake is still asleep, we’re wrapped around each other in the same position we were in last night. The way his arm fits around me, the way my head rests on his shoulder, it all just feels so right. Everything feels right except for the fact that I know this can’t last. I know it can’t last the way it is. Ben will be waiting us back at Blake’s apartment. He’ll try to pit us against each other. He’ll try to use me for everything I’m worth. There will be no escaping it, and I don’t know how Blake will respond. Maybe he’ll decide to use me too.

I lay my head against Blake’s chest and listen to his heart beating its slow, steady rhythm. I wonder if he’s dreaming. I wonder if he’s dreaming about me. I think I’m falling in love with him. I’ve been trying to ignore it, but I don’t think I can anymore. I have to figure out some way to save him. I need to protect him. I just don’t know how to do that when I can’t even protect myself. I can’t just sit around and wait for something to happen. I have to take charge.

I lean up and tap Blake on the shoulder. He doesn’t stir. He’s still sleeping like a rock. I lean over and kiss him. The kiss is slow and sweet, and before I can pull back, Blake’s kissing me back. Warmth and comfort floods through my body. I want this moment to last, but I know we have to move fast.
 

“We have to go back to your place,” I tell him.

He shakes his head. He’s still half asleep, but he’s got a half smile on his lips. “No, we should stay here.”
 

“Ben’s going to your place this morning. He said he has a search warrant.”
 

Blake sits up. “You told me last night. Don’t worry. I don’t keep anything at that apartment. Everything is hidden away somewhere more secure.”

“Like here?” I ask.

Blake laughs. “Among other places, yeah. But none of it incriminates me. Now if I didn’t have the key with me, and they found that, they might have reason to search for this place, but they don’t.”

“I left something at your place. The files, whatever you have, does it incriminate other people? Could it get back to you? Shit.”

“What could you have possibly left behind?”

“I made a copy of your key, the one to this place. I didn’t know what it was for, and Ben was telling me all kinds of things about you, and I just wanted to know what you were hiding. I just wanted to prove him wrong.”

“No,” Blake says. He pushes himself up and starts pulling on his clothes. “You should go. You have to leave now.”

“Blake, please,” I say.

“You have to go now, Cat. Get out of here. I’m warning you.”

I jump up after him. “Go or you’ll do what. You can’t just come into my life like this, you can’t just make me fall for you and then expect me to leave because you say to. I’m not your employee. I’m not your whore. I have feelings for you, Blake, and yeah, I’m a little afraid of what that means, but I’m ready for more. I want more, and I want it with you.”

I grab his shirt and pull myself against him, pressing my lips against his. I can feel the tension in his jaw as he decides whether or not to give in, but he does, and soon his lips are locked against mine as he kisses me with passion. He clings to me, like he’s holding on for dear life, like I’m his last and only hope. I want and need him. I feel complete in his arms, and I’m not letting him run me off for anything. I want this feeling to last forever.

But Blake pulls me away. “Cat, you have to go. You can’t come with me. I have to face this on my own. Tell me where the key is so I can make sure they don’t find it.”

“No. I’m going with you. I’ll get it.”
 

“I’m not putting you at risk.”
 

“I’m not giving you a choice. Every minute we wait only increases the odds of Ben being there when we get back.
 

“Fine,” Blake says. He grabs a phone and calls for a driver. We walk two blocks to a pickup spot and get in. We ride in silence. Blake doesn’t look at me. I can tell he’s turning over all of the possible scenarios in his mind. He has his phone out and he’s texting someone. My best guess is that he’s giving instructions to Damien or getting in touch with his lawyer.

Blake doesn’t even look at me as we ride up together in the elevator. “Get it and go,” he says. I reach for his hand, but he pulls it away. “Where did you put it?”

“I slipped it in the book I was reading,
The Bonfire of the Vanities
.”