The Billionaire's Unwanted Virgin (10 page)

"No, I will not hear of
it. You look exhausted, and Alice doesn’t look much better. The best thing you
can both do is get out of my hair and let me look after my granddaughter. You
will just get her over-excited again, and look where that led to. Now be off
and enjoy your honeymoon. I'll let you know if anything changes."

Sat in the back of the limo
Alice risked a glance at the brooding presence that was her husband. Dressed in
simple jeans and a tee he nonetheless exuded power and strength, testament to
how quickly they'd managed to exit the hospital. He'd grasped her elbow and
propelled her along, releasing her immediately they'd made it into the limo. Seated
apart from her as far away as the interior would allow, he hadn't looked or
spoken to her since.
 
His driver had
taken one look at his face, sighed, and smiled at Alice, before the partition
went up between them, effectively cutting them off from the rest of the world.

Alice was too aware of the
quiet man she sat next to. Her skin prickled, and an army of butterflies seemed
to be having a very merry dance in her tummy. With his long legs stretched out
in front of him, fists curled on his thighs, and head rested back, his eyes
were closed. His long eyelashes left crescent moons, accentuating the purple
shadows under his eyes. He looked exhausted and devastatingly handsome, with
several days' worth of stubble darkening his strong jaw, and Alice curled her
fingers into fists to stop herself from touching him. She wasn't at all sure he
would welcome her touch. Was he having second thoughts about marrying her
already?

This was the first time they
had truly been alone, after all, and she'd have hoped for some form of
acknowledgement from him. Was this how it was going to be when it was just the
two of them? Had everything up 'til now just been an act for the benefit of
appearances?

Alice choked back a sob at
the thought, and Lakota's eyes flew open. Glittering orbs of dark power, they
pulled her into his hold, and she didn't dare breathe under his silent
scrutiny, until he smiled, and his forbidden features relaxed.

"You're looking at me
again, as though I'm going to eat you for supper, little Alice." He shook
his head at her whispered denial, and reached across to tuck a stray lock of
her hair behind her ear. Those butterflies were immediately joined by a brass
band, and she couldn't help but lean into his touch.

His smile deepened, and he
ran his thumb across her lips. What possessed her she would never know, but she
parted her lips and ran her tongue across the digit. Lakota froze and withdrew
immediately with a frown. She sighed and crossed her arms to stop herself from
reaching out to him.

"So, where are we
going?" she asked, desperate to break the sudden tension between
them.
 
Why the hell did her voice have to
sound so wobbly and needy? She might as well put a sign round her neck to
announce her feelings for fuck's sake.

He stretched, making the tee
ride up and expose his midriff, and Alice bit her lip. As if her overactive
hormones needed any more encouragement. The tanned, steel hard abs she glimpsed
made her mouth water, and she dug her fingernails into her skin to stop herself
from showing her reaction. He didn't seem to notice her near salivating state, fortunately.

"The Dorchester,"
he said. "I keep a permanent suite there for my stays in town."

"You keep a permanent
suite at The Dorchester?" Alice was aware that she must sound like a
parrot, and no doubt looked like a goldfish as she hastily shut her mouth. He
simply quirked an eyebrow at her, as though amused, and shrugged his impressive
shoulders.

"Yes, it's simpler that
way. I value my privacy, and the hotel staff caters to every need with quiet
efficiency. No need to make life more complicated than it needs to be." He
smiled again as she struggled for a suitable response. "The only downside
is there is only one bedroom, but the bed is huge, so we needn't disturb each
other unduly. Tomorrow, we'll fly to our destination, and you need not see me
at all for the duration of our honeymoon, once we've given the papers the
necessary photo opportunities, of course. So, you see, there is no need to fear
the big, bad wolf. Your virtue is quite safe."

He didn't look at her as he
grumbled the last few words, and Alice's heart sank.

"I see." Her curt
response did make him look at her.

"What's the matter,
sweet little Alice? A marriage in name only, that's what you signed up for—what
you insisted on in fact. Why am I getting dagger looks at sticking to my side
of the bargain? The last few days have complicated matters enough as it is, no
need to change the rules now."

Alice couldn't believe what
she was hearing.

"Well, I am so sorry
that my family is proving such a
complication
for you.
And there
was me thinking you actually liked Beth, and Mummy. Let me guess it was all an
act? For whose benefit?"

A small muscle twitched in
his jaw. Other than that he held himself perfectly still, as he watched her
from under hooded eyes, and Alice wanted to thump him.

"Answer me, damn
it!"

"Your mother was on the
verge of a nervous breakdown, as it was. The last thing she needed was for me
to add to the situation. I simply did what I do best. I took charge of the
situation and sorted it as best I could. Bringing emotions into it just creates
problems. Look at what happened when I changed the venue to include Beth. It
damn well nearly killed her, and—"

He stopped abruptly and
clamped his mouth shut, as though he'd said too much, but Alice caught a
glimpse of the emotions swirling in his dark gaze, before the shutters were
once again back in place. Her heart skipped like a new-born foal in hopeful
little starts.

"What happened to Beth
wasn't your fault, Lakota."

"Wasn't it? You heard
what your mother said." He took his hairclip out and ran both his hands
through his raven tresses in agitation, and Alice scooted across the seat to
him until their thighs touched. A frisson of electricity tingled across her
skin at the simple contact, and she bit back a nervous laugh.
You're so
doomed, girl.

He tensed and stared out of
the window, but he did grasp her outstretched hand and squeezed her fingers
briefly.

With his hair hiding his
expression, Alice couldn't be sure of his reaction, but she drove on
regardless.

"Mummy didn't mean it in
that way. If you knew her better you'd know that. Our wedding was one of the
happiest I've seen Beth in a long time. Mum would never hold that against you.
This fucking illness is cruel, and unpredictable, and just plain unfair, and if
I learnt one thing since Beth fell ill, then it's to live in the moment."

Some of the tension left his
big frame during her impassioned words, and Alice carried on babbling, suddenly
desperate to make him see. Her family owed him too much to let him take the
blame.

"If you want to blame
anyone, then blame me. If I hadn't come up with this hare-brained scheme to
sell myself, then none of us would be in this situation. Of course that would
probably also mean that Beth might well not have been alive now, so, don't you
dare take on the blame for this, do you hear me? I simply won't let you.
Without you, well, without you…"

Her voice trailed off as
Lakota focused his attention on her.

"I didn't do all that
much, little Alice." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's only money, and
lord knows, I have plenty."

"Still, you needn't have
done what you did, and I appreciate it, truly I do. I … I just had to say that,
that's all."

He tapped her nose with his
forefinger, and the first genuine smile she'd seen that day lit up his chiseled
features.

"No need to thank me,
little Alice. Like I said it was only money, and I'm not quite the ogre the
media makes me out to be. Let's just stick to the deal we made, and we'll both
be fine. You're tired and overwrought, and what we both need is a good night's
sleep. I guarantee, you'll get your perspective back come morning."

"I am not overwrought,
and I don't need any fucking perspective." Alice positively growled her
annoyance and swallowed past the lump in her throat.

Lakota sighed and framed her
face in his large hands.

"So, what do you need,
Alice?"

"You!"

Lakota was in the hell of his own
making, and he had no idea what to do. For the first time in his adult life, he
didn't have a clue how to proceed. She wasn't behaving like she ought to, but
then again when had she ever done so? From the minute Alice had walked her cute
ass into his country home, she'd turned his life upside down, and made him feel
things he had no business feeling.

The permanent ache in his groin he
could deal with. The suspicious tightness in his chest that had him acting out
of character was not so easy to ignore. When she'd made that astonishing
announcement back in the limo, he'd been saved from a response by their arrival
at The Dorchester. Forrester had opened the door and greeted them with his
usual reserved dignity.

"Mr. Kemnay, Mrs. Kemnay, on
behalf of The Dorchester and its staff let me extend my congratulations on your
marriage. If you'll follow me, your usual suite is all prepared as to your
instructions, Sir."

"Thank you, Forrester."

The butler had smiled at them, and if
he had been surprised by Alice's open mouthed wonder at her surroundings, he'd
hidden it well. In true unexpected Alice fashion she had recovered quickly and
stuck her hand out to greet Forrester properly. After a hesitation so slight,
even Lakota would have missed it, had he not been watching so closely,
Forrester had shaken Alice's hand, and Lakota knew, this time, the butler's smile
had been entirely genuine. He suspected Alice had just made a staunch ally
without even realizing it.

She'd been quiet following that brief
interlude, and when she'd slipped her hand in his, the slight tremble of her
slim fingers had made him pull her flush against him.

They'd been ushered up to their suite
with the minimum of fuss, all tedious formalities having already been taken
care of by Forrester and his team, and Alice now stood on their private terrace
taking in the spectacular views. He, on the other hand, had a hard time keeping
his eyes off her ass. The ever present jeans she wore stretched over her behind
as she leant forward in wonder and promptly reared back in horror.

"For someone who doesn't like
heights, you sure like to torture yourself, little Alice." He chuckled as
she turned round and stuck her tongue out at him.

"How could I not with that
view."

Lakota had to agree, but it wasn't the
view of Hyde Park that made him step closer. It was Alice's child-like
enthusiasm that drew him like the moth to the flame until he had her caged
against the railing. She released her white knuckled grip on the intricate
railing and leant back against him with a small sigh.

"I guess I can see why you like
staying here, but it still seems terribly extravagant to me, and I dread to
think how you're going to top this for this honeymoon we're supposed to be
going on."

"Curiosity killed the cat, little
Alice."

She blew an affronted raspberry in
response and elbowed him playfully in the stomach. He dodged the impact easily
enough, and then tightened his hold on her.

"I meant what I said in the car,
Lakota, you know. Distracting me with all this is all well and good, but I can
be as stubborn as the next person." She wiggled in his arms until he took
a step back, and she swung round to face him. "And Mummy would say curious
is my middle name, so if you want me to stop talking, you will have to come up
with another plan. Your money does not impress me much, Mister."

She crossed her arms over her chest
and glared at him, but she couldn't quite suppress the smile twisting her lips
up.

A smile that slipped when he stepped
back toward her, until he was so close he could see the little flecks of yellow
in her eyes. Like unexpected rays of sunlight on a cloudy day they pulled him
in, and he stopped fighting his body's needs.

"And how would you suggest I stop
you from talking, sweet little Alice, like this?" He covered her mouth
with his hand, and her eyes grew huge, as he pressed her back into the railing.
Her hands clutched at his tee, and her back dangled over the railing, yet she
didn't flinch. The trust in her eyes blew him away, and he pulled her up
against him, so close that the he could feel her hard little nipples poke into
his chest, and her heartbeat thundered under his fingertips.

She licked the palm covering her mouth,
and he groaned his warning. "Alice, you're playing with fire. I'm trying
to do the right thing here."

She stomped on his foot, and he
released her.

"The right thing by whom, Lakota?
If you don't want me just fucking say so. I'm a big girl. I can take it, but
don't play me for a fool." She pushed him away and would have stomped past
him, but he caught her ‘round the waist and pulled her back against him. He
bent his knees and ground his raging erection into her ass cheeks.