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If that night hadn't happened, the Jones' curse wouldn't have found its way into her life, and she'd never have a forbidden taste of the hardness of his body, which Acheron was now revealing more and more of, with his buttons being loosened one at a time -

WAIT!

WHAT?

Pippi let out a yelp when she realized she wasn't daydreaming.

Acheron truly was undressing himself in front of her!

"Stop that!" But another button went loose, and she let out another gasp."What do you think you're doing?"

"Was I wrong,mikrí mou?"A voice of sham innocence, belied by the way his blasted eyes glinted with wicked amusement. "You were staring so hard I thought you wanted to see more."

Omigodomigodomigod!

"I w-was not," she stammered even as her face flamed with guilt.

"You're sure?" Another button popped free under his dexterous fingers, exposing more inches of the smooth hard wall of his chest.

Oh my God, those abs!

"S-stop undressing yourself."

He almost laughed at the tone of her words. Was she even aware of how reluctant she sounded? Schooling his expression into one of casual inquiry, he asked, "Do you mean I'll stop just for now?"

Lulled by his offhanded tone, she said, "Yes, just now—-" And then she realized what she was saying, and Pippi gasped, appalled and dismayed at how he was so easily confusing her. "What I mean is you should, umm—-" She finally managed to drag her gaze away from the tantalizing display of smooth hard skin. "You should just—-" Words failed her, and she nearly wailed, "Oh, you know what I mean!"

Acheron had to allow himself a laugh. She was just too damn delightful, and while her uniquely charming mix of bashful innocence and proud strength was proving to be a huge turn on, he also knew that trait of her was what made it essential he tread carefully from here on.

"Relax, little blusher..." He kept his voice deliberately soothing, knowing he had to take things slow and easy or risk scaring her away for good. The ploy worked, and he saw the tension easing from her figure as soon as he started buttoning his shirt.

Pippi tried not to feel conscious at the way the billionaire was staring at her. "What is it?"

His lips twisted ever so slightly. "I'm certain you wouldn't want to know the answer to that, Ms. Jones."

She almost insisted on an answer but thought twice about it in the end.The less you know,Pippi reminded herself,the better.

Acheron nearly smiled at Pippi's silence. He was beginning to understand how the little one's mind worked and knew that she was deliberately distancing herself from him.Ah, mikrí mou. How you love to yearn for the impossible.

He was too experienced not to know chemistry when he saw it, and with him and Pippilotta Jones? It was so damn hot, they could burn the whole world down with them, and they'd still be too busy fucking each other to care.

Turning back to her, Acheron purposely assumed an air of casual friendship as he asked, "Shall we go in?"

She started to nod, hesitated, then blurted out, "I told my sister I was coming here."

His lips twitched. "I'm sure that's not the only thing you did. If I had to hazard a guess, you probably told her to text you every hour and to call the police if you didn't answer within five minutes." A pause. "Am I right?"

Pippi strove hard not to look guilty.That was exactly what she had done!

"There is no need to lie. It was a smart thing to do, and I do not mind at all." He saw the dubious look she cast in his direction, and Acheron almost smiled. Most women would have willingly sold themselves to him. This girl, however, still didn't look entirely convinced he wasn't the type to pounce on an unwilling woman...

The thought amused and irritated him, but it also had him recalling Millie's words. Ms. Jones never tried to hide the fact that she believed the worst of him, and shouldn't that be enough proof that things would never work between them?

He should just do what she asked, leave, and let both of them forget that the other even existed.

Millie had accused him of regretting their time together, and it had been the truth. Hindsight made him wish he had never given her the time of the day, and while he had no power to rewrite his past with the other woman, he still had a chance to make things right with Pippilotta Jones.

Millie was no novice in the dating department, and yet he had still succeeded in fucking her life up for good.