Read Online The Billionaire Bargain (Millionaire's Club) by Barb Han - Free Book Online
Authors: Barb Han
Tags: Contemporary, multicultural
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craving contact.
Every protest as to why this shouldn’t happen melted away like ice cream left in the sun...because she could think of nothing else. Had thought of nothing else but the caramel taste of his lips for as long as they’d been apart.
His hand came up to her face.
Breathless, she allowed him to touch her. Mistake be damned, she invited his long lean fingers to explore her lips, moving down to the soft lines of her throat, and then to caress the tender nape of her neck.
And then slide down.
Down to trace the V created by her blouse where he paused. Lingered. Toyed with the top button as Rae struggled to do something as basic as breathe. His gaze held onto hers. She stood there incapable of doing anything else as swirls and sensations pulsed through her.
God, she wanted this...wanted him . Except she knew full well the colossal mistake she’d be making if she let it go forward. Daegen Tan had been honest three years ago. He didn’t do forever.
What if he changed his mind? a little voice said in the back of her mind.
Everyone leaves eventually. Whether they want to or not.
Besides, how could any man love her when her own father didn’t?
No matter the logical argument going on in her mind to counter all the terrible points that had invaded her thoughts since childhood, Rae couldn’t shake the feeling of failure. The internal script kept running. I’ve failed on my dreams. I’m failing my father. I’m failing my job.
She pulled back. “This is not a good idea.”
His brown eyes were smoky. Dark. Hungry. “Are you saying you don’t want me?”
She bucked up when she really wanted to melt in his arms. If she let him know how badly her body ached for him, she would open herself up to unimaginable pain.
“No. I don’t,” she said stiffly. And in the place where logic ruled, meant it. Her emotions stalked off in a different direction. They sent her body into shock from being away from him. No control there.
Trembling, Rae stumbled out onto the terrace needing to find a way to quiet her inner critic and reclaim her realistic thoughts—thoughts that reasonably told her she was on top of her game professionally, and had it not been for a curve in the road she’d have executed a near-perfect safety net for herself. She’d been so close to being able to really live she could almost taste it. Anyone could be led off course. The important thing was to find the track again.
Outside, alone, with nothing but the vast ocean in front of her, she couldn’t help but feel inconsequential.
Daegen’s words wound through her thoughts. Was he right? Had she closed herself off from new experiences? Hid behind her job? Had she ever really lived?
Rae knew without a doubt she would always associate the sound of waves crashing against the surf with pure ecstatic insanity. Not that she’d be experiencing many more white sand idyllic beaches in her future, which might not be a bad thing. She needed to get home, root herself in reality, and regroup.
So why did emotion lump in her throat at the idea of going back?
That, like so much in her life, had lost its appeal. Perhaps it was time for her to break out. Taste the unexpected. Fly without a plan.
Standing on an emotional ledge of her own, examining her life, she didn’t like the view. And yet she had to think she could salvage her future.
Frustrated, she made her way back inside the villa to figure out a means to break the news to her boss she wasn’t coming back in time for the meeting. Her career would be in the tank. She was broke.
Surely, it wasn’t over. This hell can’t be my life.
Not when she’d been so careful.
By the time she made it to her room, she’d lost the nerve to call Walt. This way, she could pretend to have gainful employment a few more hours. Besides, she’d faced enough demons for one day. Her arms were heavy. Her bones weary. She’d lost ten pounds in the last month. Bottom line. She’d done a crappy job of caring for
Every protest as to why this shouldn’t happen melted away like ice cream left in the sun...because she could think of nothing else. Had thought of nothing else but the caramel taste of his lips for as long as they’d been apart.
His hand came up to her face.
Breathless, she allowed him to touch her. Mistake be damned, she invited his long lean fingers to explore her lips, moving down to the soft lines of her throat, and then to caress the tender nape of her neck.
And then slide down.
Down to trace the V created by her blouse where he paused. Lingered. Toyed with the top button as Rae struggled to do something as basic as breathe. His gaze held onto hers. She stood there incapable of doing anything else as swirls and sensations pulsed through her.
God, she wanted this...wanted him . Except she knew full well the colossal mistake she’d be making if she let it go forward. Daegen Tan had been honest three years ago. He didn’t do forever.
What if he changed his mind? a little voice said in the back of her mind.
Everyone leaves eventually. Whether they want to or not.
Besides, how could any man love her when her own father didn’t?
No matter the logical argument going on in her mind to counter all the terrible points that had invaded her thoughts since childhood, Rae couldn’t shake the feeling of failure. The internal script kept running. I’ve failed on my dreams. I’m failing my father. I’m failing my job.
She pulled back. “This is not a good idea.”
His brown eyes were smoky. Dark. Hungry. “Are you saying you don’t want me?”
She bucked up when she really wanted to melt in his arms. If she let him know how badly her body ached for him, she would open herself up to unimaginable pain.
“No. I don’t,” she said stiffly. And in the place where logic ruled, meant it. Her emotions stalked off in a different direction. They sent her body into shock from being away from him. No control there.
Trembling, Rae stumbled out onto the terrace needing to find a way to quiet her inner critic and reclaim her realistic thoughts—thoughts that reasonably told her she was on top of her game professionally, and had it not been for a curve in the road she’d have executed a near-perfect safety net for herself. She’d been so close to being able to really live she could almost taste it. Anyone could be led off course. The important thing was to find the track again.
Outside, alone, with nothing but the vast ocean in front of her, she couldn’t help but feel inconsequential.
Daegen’s words wound through her thoughts. Was he right? Had she closed herself off from new experiences? Hid behind her job? Had she ever really lived?
Rae knew without a doubt she would always associate the sound of waves crashing against the surf with pure ecstatic insanity. Not that she’d be experiencing many more white sand idyllic beaches in her future, which might not be a bad thing. She needed to get home, root herself in reality, and regroup.
So why did emotion lump in her throat at the idea of going back?
That, like so much in her life, had lost its appeal. Perhaps it was time for her to break out. Taste the unexpected. Fly without a plan.
Standing on an emotional ledge of her own, examining her life, she didn’t like the view. And yet she had to think she could salvage her future.
Frustrated, she made her way back inside the villa to figure out a means to break the news to her boss she wasn’t coming back in time for the meeting. Her career would be in the tank. She was broke.
Surely, it wasn’t over. This hell can’t be my life.
Not when she’d been so careful.
By the time she made it to her room, she’d lost the nerve to call Walt. This way, she could pretend to have gainful employment a few more hours. Besides, she’d faced enough demons for one day. Her arms were heavy. Her bones weary. She’d lost ten pounds in the last month. Bottom line. She’d done a crappy job of caring for
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