Page 34 of The Wrong Billionaire
“I’m relatively confident I could give you regular orgasms,” I tell her. “In fact, I’d lay money on it.”
“You’re incredibly sure of yourself.” I can see that she’s half-exasperated, half-intrigued. “You see me as a puzzle you need to solve. A sexual Sudoku, that’s all.”
“You can think whatever you like. But is it beyond the realms of possibility that I might genuinely want to make you happy?”
Her gaze lingers on mine, so hesitant, and yet filled with longing.
Wren’s older than me, and she’s always come across as confident and capable. I love that about her. I adore herfearlessness and self-assurance. I admire her insistence that she wants to bring up a child on her own. I loved the thought of her standing by my side as a partner. Of her being my equal. Of going to bed with her and having amazing sex.
But now, she blinks a few times, looking bashful and vulnerable, like a medieval virgin married off to the lord of the manor. She needs a little care. Some time and attention spent on her.
And that makes me melt.
I want to take my time with her. Show her how wrong those men were.
I tilt my head to the side to make sure I capture her gaze. “Wouldn’t you like to go to bed with a man whose focus was on you, not on whether you perform well enough for him? A man who takes his time?”
She looks into my eyes. “Are you for real?” she whispers.
I hold out a hand. “Want to touch me and make sure for yourself?”
Looking at my hand, like a deer in the forest, she slowly reaches out. I take her hand in mine, lift it, and kiss her fingertips.
She lets me, but then withdraws her hand and tucks both of hers beneath her. Her shoulders hunch. The wariness is back. But for a brief moment, I saw behind it, and I know how much she wants—no, needs—this.
“So,” I say, “is the answer yes?”
Looking away, she studies the waves for a while. The breeze blows her hair across her face, and she tucks it behind her ear absently. Then her gaze comes back to me.
She nods. “But the rest of my requirements still stand. I’d like the freedom to live my own life. And my own bedroom.”
My feelings swell and dip like a kite on the sea breeze. She said yes! But she’s still not going to give herself completely. Itmakes me sad, but it’s the best I’m going to get. Wren doesn’t have the capacity to understand what I’m offering, or to believe it could be true. She’s not going to rely on faith. I need to give her evidence, and show her how serious I am.
If this were a normal situation, I could take her out on dates and win her slowly. I’ll try, but I have a feeling she’s going to refuse. She doesn’t want romance or a relationship. She approached Caesar because she felt it was a way to keep her heart safe. She’s not going to give it to me because I ask for it. I’m going to have to win it from her with deeds and actions.
“Thank you,” I say softly. “And I accept those terms, for now.”
She gives me a wary look. “Don’t start thinking you’re going to be able to make me fall for you, because that’s not going to happen.”
“I told you, I’m not going to make you do anything.” I take out my phone and bring up the app I downloaded earlier. “Okay, I have a couple of questions for you. Bear with me. They’re intimate, but it’s important.”
“Oh God…”
“Can I ask, when was your last period?”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “What?”
“You want to make a baby, right? I need to work out when the best time will be, so we can organize the wedding.”
Her mouth forms an O. Then, eventually, she says, “You want to wait until we’re married to have sex?”
“If we’re doing this, we do it properly. Marriage first. Then we start trying. It’ll look less like a stunt for the board. And I want our first time to mean something. The wedding night is perfect. So… first day of your last period?”
“Um…” She pulls out her phone and brings up her calendar. “Seventh of December.”
“And how long is your cycle normally?”
“Twenty-eight or twenty-nine days.”
