The Billionaire From Los Angeles_A BWWM Billionaire Romance Read online

  She reached her hand out absentmindedly and held the metal bar set on the wall behind her. She thought it might steady her, but it didn’t, not really. The elevator went on for infinity and finally stopped. The doors opened, and she took a big breath and walked out into a large foyer. It was beautifully designed, like the lobby though more ornate and distinguished.

  She swallowed hard again and stood before the large set of double doors. With a trembling hand, she lifted her small fist to the door and hesitated. She couldn’t do it. She lowered her hand and turned, taking a few steps away from the door. She felt her body begin to tremble. Doubt rushed through her like a tidal wave.

  Shaking her head, she walked back to the elevator and pressed the button to open it again. The bell rang. The elevator doors slid open, and the door behind her opened at the same time.

  “Tami…” His voice sounded all around them in the foyer, in her ears, in her mind and in her body. “You came. I’m so glad that you did. Come in. Please…” He walked to her and stood right behind her, waiting. “Come with me.”

  He sounded inviting. He sounded welcoming, warm, and open. He didn’t sound like a dirty, disgusting man who was lasciviously interested in a night with a hooker. He sounded like a friend. Gentle and thoughtful, considerate and kind.

  She turned and looked at him, wondering what she was going to say, wondering how she was going to ever get through the night. He smiled at her, and she saw everything in his eyes that she had seen before, downstairs in the bar. The same lightheartedness, the same spark of mischief and fun, the same intelligence and kindness. It relieved her to see it there, to find such a welcome in such a strange circumstance.

  “You know what, I’ve got another bottle of that fantastic champagne in here. Please, come in and have a glass with me.” He gave her a wink and a smile, and held one arm out to her, resting his hand lightly on her shoulder.

  She nodded and walked in with him, feeling as if she had left half of herself out in the foyer, a part of herself that she would never get back again. He closed the door behind her, and she knew that there was no going back.

  Chapter3

  The room she was in was enormous. The floor was designed in different levels, and the one she was in was flush with the door, though off to her right where Shane was headed, there was a bar and a kitchen, and the floor rose up off of three steps. Before her was a living room area with sofas and armchairs, tables and lamps, and an entertainment center with doors at the front that were pushed open, revealing a large flat screen television.

  To her left was a set of glass double doors that led out to a balcony, and she could see that the balcony led all the way around the penthouse. Off of the kitchen and bar area was a dining room, and that too had glass double doors that led out to the same balcony. There were windows all along the outer wall, letting in the golden glow of the afternoon California sun.

  She walked over to the glass doors nearest her and looked out, gazing at the widespread city of Los Angeles before her. “I can see the ocean from here!” she said in amazement. The view took her mind off of where she was and what she was doing for a moment, but then she remembered, and she turned around to face Shane as he poured champagne for them.

  He walked to her then with two glasses and a big half smile on his face, as if he was amused somewhat. “I’m so glad that you changed your mind. Thank you.” He handed her one of the glasses to her. He lifted his in a toast. “To new friends and lovers.”

  She felt her heart almost beat out of her chest, and she touched her glass to his. “Cheers,” she spoke in a soft voice, not meaning it much. She didn’t think that she would mind being friends with him, but it was the part about being lovers that she wasn’t at all sure about.

  “I knew you’d be up here,” he said with a friendly confidence that wasn’t quite cocky.

  She furrowed her brow a bit. “How did you know that? How could you be so sure?”

  He shrugged. “I told you; I can read people. It’s my job. It’s just a natural talent I have. I’ve always had it. You didn’t want to come up. You’re worried about what you think it will make you… what other people might think of you, what you will think of yourself afterward. You didn’t come up because you wanted to, but I’ll do my best to make that easier for you.”

  She stared at him, astounded. She couldn’t begin to guess how he knew all of that so easily. She was slightly miffed that he was so easygoing, so confident, so sure of himself and so nonchalant about it all. “Do you always get what you want?” she asked, feeling certain that he probably did.

  He laughed softly and nodded slowly. “Yeah, when I want it bad enough.” He looked at her meaningfully, and she felt her cheeks warm. She lifted her glass of champagne and drank all of it in two gulps. He raised his eyebrows and gave his head a half shake.

  “You’ll be feeling just fine in no time if you enjoy it like that.” He walked over to her and stood right in front of her, and then closed his fingers around her glass and handed his to her as he took hers. “Here. Have mine, and sip it this time. It’s worth enjoying, savoring, tasting and feeling.” He gave her a wink and walked to the bar to fill up the empty glass again.

  She felt her shoulders drop, realizing that she was acting far too nervous and that she should try to relax. With a sigh, she sipped at the champagne. She could see just by his demeanor that he wasn’t going to be awful to her. Aside from having to sleep with a total stranger, she told herself that it wasn’t going to be that bad. He’s a beautiful man, and kind and thoughtful in the mix.

  “Do you do this often?” she asked, walking toward the sofa and setting her purse on the cushion at the edge of it.

  He walked down the three steps from the bar and kitchen toward her. “Do I invite strange women to my room to spend the night with them? No. As I said before, I travel all over the world. I meet women all the time. They come to me hoping for intimacy or money or both; whatever they can get from me, I suppose. I don’t want to be taken or had. I do like to give, though. I really like that. When I am with a woman, it’s because I choose to be… I invite them when they don’t come after me, and that doesn’t happen often.”

  “Do you pay for them often? I mean, like you are with me?” Tamika asked, finding that she liked that he was at least discerning about who he was with intimately.

  He shook his head. “No. I’ve never paid a woman to be with me.” He was serious. She could see that he was serious, and she believed him.

  Her brow furrowed. “Then, why did you do this with me? You could have had practically any woman you want.”

  Shane smiled and chuckled a little, walking to her and lifting his hand to touch his fingertip to her cheek. “I couldn’t have had you, though. Could I? Not without the money?”

  Tamika hated that it was true. She hated that she could be bought. She shook her head. “No. I guess not.”

  He slid his finger beneath her chin and lifted it so that she was looking at him. “You’re worth it.” He gave his head a single shake. “You’re so worth it, and I already know that.”

  A flush of warmth moved through her, and she couldn’t help but smile, the corners of her mouth turning up just a little at first, but then he smiled wide at her, and her own grew wider. “Thank you.”

  There was a moment of quietness between them as they regarded each other and sipped their champagne. It was a comfortable silence, and she felt herself relaxing with him. He tilted his head a little.

  “I’m hungry. I’m thinking we could have an early dinner. What do you think? Are you hungry?” he asked, sounding almost hopeful.

  She nodded. “Yes, actually. I guess I didn’t think about it, but Maurice and I were going to go eat after I met him at the bar, but that didn’t happen. This… happened.” She looked around and gave her shoulders a little shrug.

  Shane’s face became passive, and she realized that he must have a very good poker face. “Maurice? Is that a partner of yours? That’s who you were meeting tonight
?”

  She nodded. “He’s my boyfriend.”

  Shane pursed his lips together tightly for a moment. “And you told him about this… about me.” He turned and looked over his shoulder at her. “About the money.”

  Another nod. “Yeah, I did.”

  “And he said do it,” Shane guessed, walking over to a touch screen on the elaborate phone in the room, and sliding his finger over it.

  “Yes.” Tamika sighed, looking away from him for a moment. She felt a bit of shame then, telling him the truth, that she hadn’t wanted to come up but that her boyfriend had wanted her to, so she did. It made her feel cheap, without value, just as she had down in the bar with him, except she was having to admit it to the man who was buying her.

  He was quiet for a long moment, staring down at the screen beneath his fingers. “What would you like for dinner? They have just about everything.” He switched subjects.

  She shrugged. “Anything is fine.”

  Shane moved his finger over the screen a few times and then looked back up at her. “Dinner is ordered.”

  “Thank you.” She gave him a half-hearted smile. “I guess I didn’t realize you’d do that. I thought…” She couldn’t look at him and moved her eyes to her feet.

  He walked over to her and lifted his hands to her shoulders, running them down her arms lightly, his touch smooth and warm. “You thought you might come up here, that I would take you right away and then send you back out again?”

  She nodded and then looked back up at him. “Yes.”

  He shook his head slowly. “Not even close.” A small smile formed over his mouth, and he gazed into her eyes. “I told you at the bar; you are a rare woman. An extraordinarily beautiful and rare woman. When I said I wanted you for a whole night, I meant all of you. I want your time, I want to talk with you, I want to listen to you, I want to share a meal or two or more with you, I want to get to know you, and yes, I want to hold you in my arms and take you to my bed with me, but that is only a part of it, a small part of it. There’s so much more to you than just your body. I want much more from you than just that.”

  Tamika stared at him, breathless, stunned, entranced again, just as she had been in the bar. She couldn’t speak, and the words that were tumbling around in her mind had no semblance. She was too surprised to put them all together into coherent sentences.

  He watched her, and the smile on his face grew. “If you went to the Louvre in Paris, would you walk in and see the Mona Lisa and then just walk right back out again?”

  She blinked and shook her head. “I’ve never been to Paris, but I guess I wouldn’t.”

  “I’ll take you. We can add it to the list. Champagne vineyards and Paris.” He grinned for a moment and then spoke again. “No. You couldn’t possibly go into the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa and just walk right back out again. You’d need at least a week of full days, every day, just to see the whole thing, and the whole thing is worth seeing. My point is that you don’t get someone as rare as you and take her to your bed and then walk away. You would be missing all of the other great things about her, so many other incredible things.

  I want to spend time seeing the whole thing, as much as I can while I have you. I want the Mona Lisa, that’s for sure, but I want all the rest with it while I have you. I want all that you’ll give me while you’re here. So, relax, open up, take your shoes off and talk with me. Let me get to know you, who you are, what you want, what your dreams and goals are. Show me those parts of you that I would never see in a bedroom, and when the time is right, I will take you to my bed, and you can show me all the rest of you too, because I want to discover it.”

  Tamika felt her heart spinning in her chest. She had never heard any man speak to her the way that Shane was. The things he said to her seemed to steal her breath away, along with tendrils of her heart and mind. She hadn’t felt as if she had ever meant much to any of the men who she’d had a relationship with, and to hear a man who was practically a stranger telling her how much she was worth in such a good way was unbelievable to her.

  “Thank you…” she trailed off, blinking. “That’s very kind of you to say.” She felt as if she could have been knocked over with a feather at that point.

  He gave his head a shake. “It’s true. I don’t have to know you for months or years to see it. I can see it now. I could see it when you walked into the bar and sat down, and when I talked with you there. It’s easy to see, for anyone who is looking and paying attention. I looked. I paid attention. I noticed.”

  “I appreciate that.” She found herself laughing softly. Then, a bubble of curiosity rose in her, and she settled herself on the sofa and looked up at him. “What about you? You’re quite a surprise. There seems to be quite a bit more to you than I would have guessed.”

  “Thank you. I’d like to think that there is. What surprises you about me?” he asked, sitting across from her in a chair and gazing at her.

  “Well, you’re really easy-going, very light hearted, and you seem really smart. You seem… like you’re unruffled about everything. Is that true? Are you?” She was growing more intrigued with him by the moment.

  He shrugged. “I am, mostly. I feel strong emotions sometimes like everyone, but life is kind of like floating down a river, you know; it’s always changing, and if you thrash around, you’re probably going to drown, but if you take it a bit at a time and relax, go with the flow, you’re going to make it to your destination all right, and the journey is going to be a lot more pleasant.”

  Tamika nodded. “I think you’re right. I guess I never thought about it before.” She laughed softly. “What are you doing in town? Are you here on business?”

  He took a sip of his champagne. “I am, and I would rather not discuss business with my pleasure, and you, my dear, are all pleasure.” He gave her a grin, and there was a knock at the door. “That’s dinner.” He stood and walked to the door, opening it to the servicemen who came in with three rolling trays and delivered a large meal to the dining room table.

  They were gone in no time, and the dining room table held a feast that could have fed six people. “I ordered all of their best. Please have anything that you like.” Shane beckoned her to the table, pulled her chair out for her as she moved to sit, and then sat beside her and poured more champagne for both of them.

  She was going to turn him down, feeling just a little light headed already, but then she thought she might take his advice and go with the flow. It might make what was to come later just a little easier. He toasted her again, to great beginnings, and she agreed with him, toasting him in return and meaning it.

  They ate and talked for a long while, their conversation ranging from education to friends and experiences in travel and mistakes and successes. They laughed and shared a great deal, and when the meal was done, he reached for her hand and kissed her fingertips softly.

  “How are you feeling now?” His sea green eyes locked on hers as a kind smile formed on his lips.

  She grinned at him. “Like I’m visiting a friend.”

  “A friend?” he asked with a hint of flirtatiousness in his tone.

  “A very good friend.” She laughed then, and he kissed her fingers once more and stood up, gazing down at her. “I’m glad to hear that.” He pulled her gently to her feet. “How would you feel now about shifting that just a bit?”

  He brought both of his hands to her cheeks and held her face in them, tilting it up toward him. Tamika’s heart began to race, but she realized as she looked up at him that she wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t intimidated or worried; she wasn’t even ashamed any longer. It was something else that buzzed through her with an electric current.

  She felt curious and excited, and much to her amazement, she didn’t mind being honest with herself about it. He closed the distance between them, bringing his lips to hers tenderly, giving her a soft kiss at first, sweet and slow. She closed her eyes and though hesitant for a moment, she gave in to the heightened emotions that she was feeling
, and she kissed him in return, discovering in her curiosity and excitement, that there was heat and passion behind his easy manner, and that there was much more to him than she ever would have guessed on the surface.

  His kiss deepened, and he parted her lips, tasting her and spreading a fire through her as he did so. She wasn’t sure if it was the champagne or the novelty of being so intimate with a stranger, but everything about him began to ignite her, from his strong and gentle touch to his firm embrace, from his consuming kisses to the molten heat that was building rapidly and spiraling inside of her belly. Desire began to flow through her veins, and it stunned her, took her breath away, and somehow, much to her amazement, made her want much more of him than his kiss.

  When he finally let her go, they were both breathless, their eyes wide with wonder, and their bodies pulsing with hunger. Saying nothing, he took her hand and led her directly back through a doorway from the dining room into a large bedroom. He didn’t stop until they were both standing beside his enormous bed.