Read Online Devotion - Billionaire Contemporary Romance Novel by Aria Hawthorne - Free Book Online

important person in the room.  It had been a very long time since anyone had held her the way Eliot Watercross held her whenever they danced together. Strong.  Possessive. Commanding.  It had been long … too, too long .
    She stopped his lead and collected her composure. “Thank you for the dance, but there are so many people I still need to see tonight. “
    Watercross did not attempt to draw her back to him.  Instead, he outlined the platinum strand of her necklace with the tip of his finger.  The delicate sensation along her neckline silenced her protest.
    “Lovely, but too modest.” His finger lingered over the diamond pendant, the first Christmas gift that Phillip had ever given her.
    She gazed into his jade eyes and attempted not to betray how Eliot’s seductive touch made her yearn for more.  Working for Phillip and raising her son had dominated every aspect of her personal and professional life for the past five years.  There was no room to enjoy anything else or anyone else—especially not the possibility of an intimate romance, and especially not one with a man like Eliot Watercross.
    “I’m sure you don’t mind my cutting in—”  Phillip’s voice asserted.
    The waltz had come to an end and the band quickly rolled into a popular swing tune.  Phillip towed Isabel towards him; Eliot relinquished her from his arms and surrendered her without a fight. 
    “It was my pleasure.”  He bowed.  Isabel watched with disappointment as he disappeared through the fresh mix of couples that flowed onto the dance floor, and turned his attention towards a group of Chinese business investors who had just arrived.
    Phillip gazed at her frown. “Don’t tell me you’re smitten with Watercross?”
    Isabel glanced back at Phillip; she had been both foolish and careless.  The music bounced with an upbeat tempo, but Phillip did not lead her through the steps.  Instead, he guarded her in his arms as if he expected an answer.
    “I’m always smitten with Eliot,” she casually tossed back.  “He dances the waltz like an expert—almost as well as you.”  She tried to nudge Phillip into the dance, but he resisted.
    “I see…so you’re easily impressed.”
    Isabel challenged his gaze. “Women like to be wooed, Phillip. It makes us feel like we’re actually women. Are you jealous?” She fully expected him to sneer at the suggestion.
    Instead, his cool blue eyes stared at her with disarming conviction.  “I don’t want him recruiting away my most important business asset.” 
    “He’d have to pay me double what you’re paying me,” she teased. “Plus, I like my bosses to be British and surly.  So I think you’re safe for now, Phillip.”
    Isabel feigned a smile, urging him again to start his lead.  But he held her a moment longer than necessary.  Suddenly, she regretted the entire exchange.  She knew he depended on her on a daily basis, and the insinuation that she might leave his company or become romantically involved with one of his direct competition wasn’t something to joke about. 
    Without warning, Phillip towed her against his chest, closer than he had ever embraced her before.  Maybe she imagined it or maybe he was simply more attached to her tonight because of her own behavior. 
    “Never safe enough…” he whispered into her ear, betraying a hint of rare vulnerability.  Phillip’s unforgiving embrace rotated her body, allowing her to gaze across the casino at Symeon Colovos and Marlow Sheffield, who strode out of the elevators—together.
    Phillip’s fiancée , she noted. How long had it been since Phillip last saw her ?  Isabel wasn’t certain.  Marlow looked stunning in her full-length evening gown and black opera gloves.  Phillip watched Marlow with his steady eyes.  Isabel watched Eliot move past the poker tables to greet them.  He bowed and embraced Marlow’s gloved hand with a flirtatious kiss.  Like a silent movie star, Marlow threw back her head with sudden