Proposition: A Dark Billionaire Romance Read online

  Russel looked at her quietly, his face smooth and impassive, “That’s really my business, Anya. In any case, it’s not something I’d discuss with a twenty-one-year-old, particularly not my daughter’s best friend.”

  Anya’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Why do you do that? I’m not a child. I’m a legal adult.”

  Russel raised an eyebrow. “You think numbers make you an adult? They don’t. Experience makes you an adult.”

  “I’ve got experience,” she responded tartly.

  “Well, do you now?” Russel pushed himself away from the counter and strode towards the kitchen door and checked outside. He took Anya’s hand and pulled her into the office and locked the door behind her.

  Chapter 3

  Anya stood there pressed against the wall, her chest heaving as she struggled to take in air, her body was painfully aware of Russel’s body pressed up against hers.

  “Why am I in here?” Anya queried, her voice sounding husky to her own ears. Russel’s eyes snapped open to meet hers, and she could see the conflict written in them.

  “I don’t know, Anya, I don’t know.” He drew a ragged breath and placed his arms on either side of her, caging her in, “I just, being around you, it messes with my head, and I know it’s wrong because you’re so much younger than I am, and you’re my daughter’s best friend. I shouldn’t want you this way.”

  Anya licked her lips and stared at him, “I shouldn’t want you that way either, but you’re the one who pulled me in here.”

  Russel chuckled quietly, the movement causing vibrations to ripple throughout his body, “You’re right, I am. I just wanted one minute alone with you without worrying my daughter would barge in, and I’d have to go back to being Mr. G.”

  He stared at her, his blue eyes piercing as they begged her to understand. Anya nodded as she pressed herself against him making him sigh deeply as he brought a hand up and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

  “Anya, do you have any idea how desirable you are?” He began to trace her face slowly and gently as if he was afraid she would disappear if he went any faster, “From the second you walked in through that door, I knew that I was attracted to you, but I could handle it. It wasn’t until we started talking that I realized I was in trouble. That sexy mouth of yours has bewitched me.”

  “You’ve done the same to me,” she said quietly as she brought her hands up and allowed herself to tangle them in his hair like she’d imagined doing so many times.

  “Have I? I don’t know if that’s a good thing. It makes this harder in any case.”

  Anya let her hand trail down his shoulders, over his hard back, and she cupped his ass in her hand causing Russel’s eyes to widen in surprise.

  “I know you want me, and you know I want you, so why is this hard?” she whispered throatily as she hooked one leg around his.

  “Because,” He swallowed heavily, “You know the reasons, Anya. My daughter would probably never forgive me.”

  Anya leaned forward and pressed a light kiss at the base of his throat. She felt a slight tremor go through him, and she smiled as she noticed that his resolve was crumbling.

  “We’re two consenting adults. There’s nothing wrong with that.” The sound of his heavy breathing was muddling her senses, making her abandon all logic and reason.

  “I love Lisa, she’s my best friend, and I don’t want to hurt her, but being around you, God, I burn for you, Russel, all the time.”

  Russel’s hands began to travel along the expanse of her back until he cupped her ass and lifted her up, so she had to wrap her legs around his waist, “Why do you have to make this so hard? Why does the sound of your breathing make me feel like I want nothing more than to take you right here and now, in all the ways possible, on every spare surface?”

  Anya’s breath hitched in her throat as she snuck her hands underneath his shirt. He tensed for a minute before he relaxed underneath her touch, “I want nothing more than to ride you right now,” she whispered in his ear. She took an earlobe between her two teeth and gently nibbled on it before releasing it.

  He made a noise in the back of his throat before he captured her lips with his. Anya sighed as she pressed herself harder against him, allowing her to deepen the kiss and taste every inch of him. The smell of his cologne filled her senses, and she began to claw at his back impatiently yanking on his shirt. He smiled against her lips as he pulled back and tossed his shirt on the ground all the while yanking her dress up to reveal her thighs.

  He gave her a heart stopping smile before he pressed lips against hers once. He gently bit down on her bottom lip, and she parted her mouth allowing him access. She whimpered in the back of her throat as their tongues began an erotic dance for dominance that her blood sung in her ears.

  He pulled back a while later and stared at her wordlessly, “I told you that pain can heighten your senses, and if it’s applied at the right time, it can maximize the pleasure factor.”

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly, trying to concentrate through the fog that had clouded her senses.

  “I’d like to show you a small demonstration.”

  Anya stared at him in shock, wondering if she would really let him do something like that. Heart hammering in her chest, she slowly moved her head up and down.

  Russel reached behind his back and put his hand in his back pocket. He pulled out a blindfold and began to tie her hands. He made it just tight enough that she couldn’t undo it, but not so tight that it would chafe her skin.

  “Is that too tight?”

  “It’s a little painful,” Anya admitted.

  “That’s the point, I could loosen it a bit, but then you’d be missing the whole point.” Russel pointed out as he waited for her to make her decision.

  “No, it’s fine. I can handle it.”

  Russel gave her a small smile, “Just say gum if you feel it’s too much.”

  “Gum?” Anya’s voice was laced with amusement.

  “If you want another safe word, by all means,” Russel commented sardonically as he gave her an amused look.

  Anya shook her head adamantly as she gazed at him in anticipation. Russel stood there for a minute as he shifted, so they were moving towards the couch. He set her down gently and kicked her legs apart before lowering himself in between them.

  He lowered his head and began to kiss her neck softly at first before biting down hard. Anya bit down on her bottom lip as she felt a surge of pain make its way through her body, but before she could utter the safe word, Russel’s hands had traveled down, and one of them was lying on her crotch while the other was on her breast. He began massaging her breasts slowly with one hand. He kneaded them and licked his fingers before touching them again.

  Anya’s hips began to move, as if of their own accord, impatient for some friction. Russel’s hands moved from on top of her crotch and made their way down her legs and over her thighs. He ran a finger lightly over her thighs before they found their destination and settled just on top of her panties.

  Anya began to pant quietly feeling like her whole body was on fire just from that simple touch. She tried to move her hands to pull him closer, but the blindfold restricted her movement. As if sensing her struggle, Russel reached out with one hand to firmly but gently steadied her hands.

  “God, I love the sight of you, pinned underneath me writhing like that, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that, and I can smell you. God, that smell is going to make me explode.”

  He buried his face in her neck and began to kiss it again softly at first, before he lowered the strap of her dress and murmured appreciatively that she had a nice bra.

  He lowered her bra strap and took her breast in his mouth, sucking softly like a newborn before he began to twirl his tongue around the nipple causing Anya to bite her lip to keep the moan inside.

  The hand on her panties began to inch its way underneath until it was directly on her naked flesh. Goosebumps broke out across her skin as Russel bit down on her nippl
e and placed one finger inside of her and stroked.

  Anya’s hips buckled as a flash of searing pleasure tore through her. Russel smirked at her knowingly, “Do you feel that? That’s pain and pleasure.” His voice sounded ragged, and when her hips rose to meet his fingers, she felt the bugle in his pants twitch, and she smirked as she stared at it.

  “Well, I’m not the only one affected. Looks like you want to come out and play.”

  He took her bottom lip between his and bit down until it started to feel sore. While he was doing that, his finger swiped left and right and moved in and out causing a vortex of emotions to go swirling through her all at once.

  She felt herself getting closer, and as he began to pump his fingers in and out of her, her hips began to move faster and faster until a voice shattered the haze of lust that was enveloping both of them.

  “An! Anya, where are you?” Lisa’s voice drifted in from behind the closed office door.

  Chapter 4

  They both stared at each other guiltily as Russel hastily removed his fingers and undid the blindfold. Anya hastily drew her dress down and smoothed it as she looked for Russel’s shirt. She handed it to him without meeting his gaze, and they both stood there not knowing what to do.

  “Dad? Where are you?”

  Anya was standing close enough that she felt Russel’s body heat, and she couldn’t get over the shame she felt, but she was also so turned on, it was painful.

  As if reading her thoughts, Russel’s gaze met hers, and he pushed her up against the wall and covered her mouth with his. She swallowed back her moan as her back hit the door, and his fingers slid back under her dress and found their earlier position.

  They both froze as the door behind them rattled. His finger stilled while still inside of her as she throbbed painfully.

  “Dad? Are you in there? Why is your door locked?”

  “Honey?” He sounded hoarse, so he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I came in here to do some work, I must’ve fallen asleep on the desk.”

  “That’s okay, Dad. Have you seen Anya?”

  Anya began to move her hips eager for the friction she so desperately craved. “She’s um,” he struggled to finish his sentence, “I think she said she was going to meet you there or something. She got an important,” his eyes rolled in the back of his head as Anya reached down and cupped him between her hands. “She got an important phone call,” he managed to bark out.

  “That’s weird. Okay, Dad. I’ll see you later then.” They waited for a minute until the front door slammed shut, and Russel resumed his stance with renewed vigor, pumping so hard, Anya had to press herself against him just to keep herself upright. She felt a tremor begin to build up within her, swirling faster and faster until when she was just about to topple over the edge, Russel bit her neck hard causing her to shout as she rode out her high.

  White spots danced in her field of vision as her chest rose and fell, the sound of her heavy breathing filling the room, making the air between them even more charged.

  She let herself lean against his shoulders, feeling limp as every part of her body thrummed with energy.

  “Are you ok?” he asked quietly.

  Anya’s head snapped up to meet his, “Am I okay?” She laughed, a hoarse laugh that had her coughing, “I’m better than okay. I think you just killed me.”

  Russel gave her a devilish grin, “Believe me, if I wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t be able to stand when I was done much less look at me and have this conversation.”

  “Is that so?” Her lips curled into a smile as she played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

  “Anya, what I showed you is just the tip of the iceberg, there’s so much more than that,” he said matter-of-factly.

  Anya shifted, so Russel was pressed up against her core. “There’s that tip you’re referring to,” she murmured huskily, “How is it that I want more already when I could literally see stars behind my eyes five minutes ago?”

  Russel laughed, a deep sound in the back of his throat, “It’s because your body recognizes that it’s never felt anything like this before, and it wants to feel it again.”

  Anya moved forward, so she was mere inches away from his lips. She smiled at him, and he smiled back as she bucked her lips against his. Russel’s eyes turned a shade darker as he breathed deeply. “You really ought to be careful not to make the dominant lose control.”

  Anya’s heart skipped a beat. “What happens if a dominant loses control?”

  Russel frowned as he ran his fingers across her lower lip. “Well, nothing bad, don’t worry. It’s just that the pleasure level skyrockets then, and if the submissive isn’t ready, that much pleasure could probably short wire the senses, and I guess they’d black out.”

  Anya gave him an incredulous look. “You’re joking, right?”

  Russel scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I’m not. I’m not actually sure that’s what happens, mind you. But I have friends who told me.”

  “You’ve never experienced it?”

  “I’ve never lost control,” he said simply as he kissed the tip of her nose. The absurdly sweet gesture had butterflies forming in the pit of Anya’s stomach. She studied his lean, handsome face, and felt a familiar pang in her heart, wondering if this could ever go anywhere.

  If she were being honest with herself, what she felt for Russel wasn’t just lust though, there was plenty of that. She liked him, she genuinely like him.

  “Where’s that pretty little head at?” he asked quietly as he leaned his forehead against hers.

  “Russel,” she breathed deeply as if she could somehow inhale his name and keep it deep down in her heart where no one could take it away, or tell her that it isn’t real.

  “Yes?”

  “I like you, and it’s not that I don’t like what we just did. Hell, I loved it, but I feel like my heart could seriously be in danger here because you’re the only guy I’ve ever met that I can have conversations with about books, music, philosophy, and you won’t look at me like I’m high maintenance. You actually make me feel like I’m a smart, funny, and sexy woman.”

  Russel traced her face softly, “Oh, Anya. Sweet Anya,” he whispered as he kissed her forehead, “I like you too. I wish you were older. I wish I had met you in college because you would’ve rocked my world then.”

  “I’ve met many women twice your age who don’t have half your brains or maturity. Your brain is always coming up with interesting questions and thoughts, and talking to you, it just makes me wish I were younger, sitting on a beach somewhere discussing prose or music.”

  “But?” she hedged.

  Russel sighed as he took her hand between his and placed a gentle kiss on it, “But in our reality, we come from two different worlds. You’re my daughter’s best friend. You’ve just graduated university, and in a lot of ways your life is just starting. I’m a father in his late thirties who has kinky sexual preferences and classical taste in books and movies.”

  Anya gripped his hand, brought it up and placed it on her heart, and she placed her own hand on his. “Do you feel that? Look at how our hearts are beating in sync.”

  “Yeah,” he laughed quietly, a look of wonder on his face, “They are.”

  “Tell me that feels wrong. Tell me that doesn’t fit into our reality. Because from where I’m standing, we don’t come from two different worlds, we come from the same world, I just happened to be born later, that’s all, but you and I, it’s like we’re…” she paused as her mind raced to come up with a way to explain it.

  “On the same wave length?” he suggested.

  A smile tugged on the corner of her lips. “Exactly.”

  Russel gave her a sad smile, “I think so too, but honestly I don’t know. I’m afraid of letting go of you, walking out of this room, letting you out that door, and realizing that what we felt while we were here might not last. I’m afraid of watching those feelings curl up and hide in a corner where we won’t ever take them out again.”<
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  “Don’t say that. What we feel here right now, that’s real, that’s more real than anything else. Right here, right now with you, that’s more tangible and potent than anything I can feel out there.”

  “If Lisa wasn’t my daughter, I wouldn’t hesitate. I don’t care what society thinks, and something tells me neither do you, but I can’t risk my relationship with my daughter,” his blue eyes pleaded with hers.

  Anya swallowed past the lump in her throat, “I understand,” she said thickly.

  She wished she didn’t. Worse still, she wished she didn’t care. That Lisa’s friendship didn’t matter so much to her that it physically hurt to think of betraying her this way. As it was, it was hard enough knowing that they had crossed a line tonight, a line they could never cross again.

  Anya’s cell phone went off, and she met his gaze sadly, “It’s Lisa.”

  She unhooked her legs from around his, and he slowly helped her pulled her dress down. He undid the lock with a quiet click and stepped aside, so she could pass through the door.

  She grabbed her phone and answered, “Lis, I’m so sorry. My mum called with some sort of emergency. I told your Dad to tell you, I’m finishing up, I’ll be on my way soon.”

  She could see Russel slip on his shirt out of the corner of her eye, and she gave him a small smile which he returned. She felt him step up behind her and hug her waist from behind. He placed his head on her shoulder and sighed.

  “No, don’t worry. I can handle it. I’m so sorry again. I’ll see you soon, okay?” She hung up, and she leaned back into Russel’s embrace allowing his smell to wash over her.

  “You’re not making this any easier,” she mumbled gruffly.

  “I know, I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help myself,” he buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply. He spun her around, so she was facing him before he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Her head fit neatly into his shoulder, and they stood like that for a moment, each unwilling to let the other person go.

  “If right now is all we have, then stay for a while longer. I just want to hold you.”