Greene's Riches (A Billionaire Romance - Vol. 2) Read online

  “Maybe he thought it was more important to pursue other interests,” he said, grinning the grin that made her melt.

  Before she could respond, he had leaned in to kiss her. She felt his warm hand on the side of her neck and his soft tongue play lightly with hers. Everything he did felt exactly right to her.

  She boldly sucked his lip, biting softly every now and then as they kissed without shame in the back of the car. Richard sighed longingly once as her hand traveled down the front of his blue button-down shirt to the top of his belt. She almost felt satisfied just to have heard him make such an enticing sound, but just almost. Logan was very good at keeping his eyes on the road, she thought.

  Too soon, they had reached her hotel once more. Before she could invite him up to her room, Richard explained that he actually must attend meetings and catch up on some phone calls for the rest of the afternoon. He promised her that he would try to see her one night during the week before their trip to Paris.

  “I doubt I can stay away from you for too long,” he whispered in her ear seductively as they embraced and kissed one last time before parting.

  “I sure hope not,” she answered back, still tense with excitement from their ride.

  Richard winked, grinning just enough to remind her how much she wanted him as he got back in the car.

  As she watched his car drive away, Alexis wondered how she could feel so close to a man that she had only heard about in the news a few days before. She felt somewhat ashamed of herself for moving so quickly, before reminding herself that there was nothing to be ashamed of. She was a grown woman on an adventure and no matter what she did, she was exploring and learning and she would not put herself down about it, she decided.

  Besides, she thought, there was nothing to feel wrong about with Richard. He treated her well, better than she had ever been treated, in fact; although, she had not expected Brandon to misrepresent himself so much today. It made breaking things off with him easier for her, but she wished that he wouldn’t have ruined things between them in the area of friendship.

  *****

  Finally making it to her room for the first time today, she realized that she had not checked in with work in a couple of days. Surely her boss, Jacob, would have emailed her ten times by now.

  Before sitting down to her laptop, she decided to treat herself to a bubble bath in large tub that came with the suite Richard had reserved for her for the week. With her mind full of thoughts from such an eventful morning and the time change in her favor, she relaxed for the next hour, replaying her entire experience with Richard up until this point.

  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise that Richard was unable to spend time with her until Wednesday evening. Jacob actually had sent her more than ten emails attempting to figure out what her next big story would be, to inform her how the last had been so well received, and then a few extra asking where the hell she was. After assuring him that she had not run off or been kidnapped, she got to work distracting him with the fact that she would be in Paris for the weekend and that she had something big for him from there. Not that she had any idea what that would be yet, of course.

  In the meantime, he sent her on several missions that he had thought of to get another story in before Paris. He had this brilliant idea for her to scope out all of the airports and train stations in the London area and highlight the best places for the businesswomen that read their magazine to stop and refresh themselves in some way. She made her way from one transportation facility’s amenities to the next, visiting nail salons, spas, juice bars, cafes, boutiques, and more. She was surprised how mall like so many of them were. Once Jacob was finally satisfied sometime late Tuesday afternoon, it was all she could do to push through and write the article, although once she received a message from the concierge that Richard would be picking her up at six thirty the next evening, she managed to type a little faster.

  After taking longer than ever to get ready for the evening, she finally took one last look in the mirror. She had spent all day primping in some way. Especially after the research she had done for Jacob’s article, she had felt that she needed to rework herself from top to bottom, so she had gotten her hair done, bought new eye shadow and lipstick, gotten a manicure and pedicure, and purchased a new dress. Fortunately, she had received her stipend from the magazine into her bank account, making all of these activities slightly more affordable.

  She looked over her new sleek asymmetrical haircut and complemented herself for being brave and changing up her long brown locks into a cute shoulder length bob. She hoped Richard would like it, but also reminded herself that it was a little early to let his influence affect her style, ignoring the fact that she had gone shopping for every day she spent with him basically.

  She was startled by a rhythmic knock on the door. She checked her watch. It was only six twenty.

  “Who is it?” she sang out, almost certain it was her date.

  “It is ‘ousekeeping, Madame,” a strangely accented high male voice responded.

  She laughed and opened the door. “You’re not quite the French maid stereotype, I must say.”

  He put his hand over his chest and took a step back. “You look amazing. Wow.” He made a spinning moving with his hand, so she twirled for him, trying not to blush.

  “I guess I couldn’t ask for a much better reaction than that,” she said, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.

  “You even smell intoxicating,” he said, his voice deep.

  “Thank you,” she said, trying to keep herself from pulling him into the room right away. “Let me get my things.”

  He leaned in the doorway watching her intently as she gathered her phone and keys and placed them in her clutch. She liked that she could feel his eyes on her, exploring her flowing white dress with the intricate cutouts in the back.

  “You’re going to put every other woman to shame tonight,” he said, shaking his head as she took his arm, closing the door softly behind her.

  “Oh, stop,” she said, playfully. “I’m just trying to keep up with your looks.”

  He laughed. “Well, you win this one, kid.”

  She giggled at his response and then held him close as they walked down the stairs slowly to his car.

  “So, how were all of your meetings this week?” she asked.

  “Fruitful,” he answered with a smile. “I might own two new corporations than I did when I saw you last.”

  “Oh, fruitful, indeed then!”

  “But let’s not talk about work tonight. Tell me what you want to do in Paris,” he said as he relieved Logan of his door-opening duties once more for her.

  *****

  As she waited for him to get in, she realized how much more calm she was this time than she had been with him before. She knew she was a long way away from being totally comfortable with him, but this felt nice so far. She at least felt cared for and trusting of him and that was an improvement from what she had felt with anyone in a very long time.

  “So, what will it be?” he said with winning smile as he got in the car, immediately reaching for her hand.

  “Crepes, wine, and shopping, right? Isn’t that what the Parisians do?” she answered with a smile.

  He laughed and as the car moved forward slowly, he began telling her all of the ideas he had for the weekend.

  At the end of the best meal she had ever had at Launceston Place, in which they had discussed almost every sight to see in Paris and Alexis had been thankful to have Richard’s culinary expertise to guide her through the menu, the couple enjoyed dessert together. Both had quieted down, simply smiling at one another over their espresso and apricot soufflé. Alexis never wanted this moment to end. She was so happy with Richard right now and nothing was complicated and it all seemed easy. She wondered how long the easy part would last, but pushed the thought from her mind as he fed her another bite of soufflé.

  “I’m sure you’ve already figured this out, but I’m very excited to be taking you to Paris
with me,” he said with a side smile that made her want to kiss every bit of his beautiful face.

  “I can’t wait,” she said, feeling like she was going to burst with happiness. After a moment’s pause, she said, “I would love for you to tell me more about yourself, Richard. I feel like I know you so well, but in reality, I hardly know anything about you.”

  She noticed his energy change. It was less uncomfortable than before, but he still seemed like he did not want to be on this subject.

  “Okay,” he said, wiping his mouth with his napkin lightly. “What would you like to know?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, tilting her head at him. “Tell me about your family.”

  “Okay, well, I have a sister and two brothers. I don’t speak to my dad and my mother is amazing,” he said without animation.

  “Oh,” she said, realizing he clearly was not a fan of this subject. But she wasn’t quite ready to let it go. “Tell me more about your mother.”

  He smiled slightly. “Well, she is kind of crazy, but lately I’ve been realizing how wonderful she is. She always cooks for me when I’m home, even though she has at least three people around that she pays to do it for her, and she always cares just as much about a stranger as she does about one of her children. She would do anything for anyone and she has.”

  She felt sadness in his voice as he spoke about her, even though he was smiling. “Thank you for sharing that with me. She sounds amazing.”

  “She is,” he said. He took a deep breath. “And she has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. Never smoked a day in her life.”

  “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” she said calmly. “I’m sure she’s so thankful to have you looking out for her, though.”

  He nodded. She wasn’t sure what to say next, without sharing more sadness about her family.

  “You know, I’d love for you to meet my brother sometime. I don’t know if you ever will, but he’s always coming up with some new fundraiser of some kind. He’s only got a mind for that kind of business and he’s constantly having financial trouble because of it, but he’s really great at it.” She hoped this was a way for him to change the subject if he wanted to.

  “That’s amazing. I’ve been a lot more into fund raising since my mom told us. Or at least, I’ve been trying. At first, I just started donating money to any cancer organization that I heard of, and then I thought that it would be nice to start one in her name. That maybe it would help her fight it, you know? But she’s been getting worse lately. Every time we talk on the phone, she tries to hang up quickly and I know it’s because she doesn’t want me to hear her coughing so much.” His eyes were watering some now as he stared into the candle.

  As Alexis reached for and held both of his hands in hers, he smiled slightly and apologized. She shook her head, keeping the silence. All she wanted to do was wrap him in her arms and incase him with love right now.

  Eventually, their server broke the somber quiet, by checking on them one last time and leaving their tab on the table.

  After paying, Richard stood from their booth and put his hand out for her Alexis. She felt strange as they walked out of the building and waited for Logan to pull up the car. No wonder he hadn’t been sharing much about himself; he had been trying to avoid the topic that was probably always in the back of his mind. She wondered if he was upset with her for making him bring it up.

  When they got back in the car, Richard reached for her hand and lightly lifted it to his lips. With kisses that barely made contact with her skin, he moved his way slowly up her arm, pulling her closer and closer to him with every one. Soon he was breathing into her neck and she was breathing his husky scent in deep.

  They remained close without speaking until they made their way back to her hotel room, where they began a tender exploration of one another. This was very different than the last night that they had been together. Their movements were slow, purposeful, and she knew that hers were filled with a kind of love this time. She ignored the feeling that it was too soon to feel love for this man and let his touch take over her being. With every movement and response, she felt closer to him. This kind of intimacy did not lack intense passion; he squeezed her hand, pushing her arms up against the head of the bed as he lightly bit and kissed her neck, her breasts, and back to her lips. She felt as though she could feel him with every part of her body, not just the ones he was touching. As they reached their climax together, every movement in perfect rhythm with the other, she felt as though they had merged into one being and she knew that she never wanted to turn back.

  When she woke a few hours later, she found herself snuggled as closely as possible to the warm, bare body behind her. She loved the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms. She listened as he snored ever so slightly and smiled. Although she did not want to wake him, she loved the idea of taking a luxurious bubble bath with him in her oversized tub in the suite he had paid for and pretending that time did not matter to either one of them.

  As she attempted to remove herself from his tightly woven grasp, she felt him stir.

  “Mmmm,” he responded to her movement, pulling her in closer.

  “Hi,” she whispered.

  “Mmm,” he answered.

  She smiled at his sweet sleepy answers. “I have an idea.”

  “What,” he whispered, groggily.

  “Let’s take a nice warm bubble bath,” she answered.

  “Mmmm mmm,” he answered.

  “Oh, come on,” she whispered, beginning to slowly push herself into him. “I’ll let you see me naked.”

  He pushed back into her with a sensual force just before she wriggled her way out of his grasp and headed for the bathroom.

  As she ran the bath, filling it with salts and conditioners, she looked back to the bed. She laughed, as he had apparently begun to stretch and then fell asleep with his arms above him.

  She slowly crawled back on top him, the bath still running in the background. She started kissing his broad chest lightly, working her way down his body as he slowly came back into consciousness again.

  “Wake up, sleepyhead,” she said, wondering how she was managing to sound cute and be seductive at the same time. She began kissing more intensely, as she felt him begin to respond beneath her. She ran her hand up his thigh as she lingered with her lips on his stomach now, though she was still entirely above the covers. He was at least alert enough to be looking at her now, she noticed as he sighed and began to bite his lip in response to her actions.

  She moved herself back towards his head now, completely on top of him, and kissed his neck, making him breathe deep just before whispering, “There’s more where that came from over here.” She then quickly moved off the bed before he could pull her back and proceeded to get in the bathtub slowly since it was so warm. Then she waited for him.

  After a few minutes, he came and stood against the pane of door, his nakedness not making him shy in the least. He smiled as he watched her resting in the bubbles.

  “You always get what you want, don’t you?” he said, grinning.

  “It wouldn’t be fair if you were the only one, would it?” she answered, without looking at him. Then she smiled and beckoned him over to her. “Come on in. The water’s nice and warm.”

  She loved the ruffled look of his hair. She watched him ease himself into the water behind her.

  “So, do you take 1 a.m. baths often?” he said, casually.

  “I try not to make a habit of it, but sometimes it’s hard to sleep.”

  “I’ll say,” he said, jokingly.

  “Hey,” she laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll make it worth your while.”

  “It already is,” he said, his hands beginning to slowly massage her shoulders.

  She loved how sweet he was even when she had dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night. She let him massage her shoulders and neck for a few minutes and then slowly moved back into him. He began massaging her chest as well and then her breasts, which actually felt wonder
ful in both a sexual and relaxing way, she was surprised to find. Soon, she had turned and was facing towards him.

  They kissed passionately for a while as water lapped over the side of the tub and splashing onto floor occasionally, and then she began massaging his legs, slowly working her way up. After just a few minutes, he had pulled her on top of him and soon there was almost more water on the floor than there was in the bath. As they reached the peak once again, she let herself be loud this time, honestly unable to hold back. Everything about him felt so good to her.

  “Mm, I liked that. This is better than any dream I could have been having instead, so thank you,” he said after they had rested in silence against each other for a moment, the water calming around them.

  “Mmm hmm,” she responded.