Page 7 of A Billionaire for Christmas

A STEAMING PILE OF REGRETS

Molly’s heart was pounding in her chest as she fought to stay calm.

She scanned the corridor. No other people were around.

The group of men was advancing slowly, all of them clearly inebriated, wolf-whistling loudly and making their desire to see her perform some sort of X-rated routine, especially for them, very obvious.

She could either bolt towards the lift, hoping they didn’t reach her before it came, or she could run back to the wedding and pray that she’d reach the door before they did.

Precious seconds ticked by while she tried to get her frozen body to move in time with her thoughts.

Ava had always been the one who dealt with difficult and rowdy customers.

And while Molly appreciated she needed to get better at confrontation, tonight was not the night to try.

Just as she decided to race back towards the room, the door swung open.

Levi emerged, his head swivelling between the group of men and Molly, clocking the situation. With a thunderous look on his face, he barked out a command. ‘Leave her alone or I’ll have you all thrown out. Show some respect, you drunken imbeciles.’

The men stopped. They seemed to recognise him instantly, and they scurried away in a babble of apologies, leaving Molly and Levi facing one another. She was relieved beyond measure that he’d come out when he did. Perhaps he was a well-known billionaire politician? Or on the television?

‘Thank you.’ Molly’s mouth felt suddenly dry.

‘Are you okay?’ He stood in front of her, his face concerned. His voice soft.

Molly blew out her cheeks. ‘Yes.’

‘Some guys can be real jerks. Especially on a night like this. No one is quite themselves. Can I escort you somewhere? Are you here with friends?’

Molly didn’t know what to say.

‘Or were you just here to crash a wedding as part of a dare?’

Terribly handsome and terribly astute. Such a lethal combination.

Molly decided not to dignify his accurate assumption with an answer. ‘That’s very kind. But it’s late, and I’m sure I’ll find my way back to my… hotel room somehow.’

She shivered even though her cheeks were on fire. She really hadn’t thought this through. Weaving a web of lies was utterly exhausting.

‘Are you cold?’

‘Yes.’

See? She was still lying. What was the matter with her? The place had to be about fifty degrees. It was as hot as a furnace.

Levi whipped off his jacket, placing it gently around her shoulders before stepping back to give her some space. ‘Maybe it’s the shock.’

Her neck tingled where he’d grazed it with his knuckles. ‘Maybe.’ She caught his manly scent. A stark contrast to the perfume-filled room she’d left earlier. Something weird was happening. Molly had never felt this drawn to a man before. At a loss for what to say, she stood staring at him.

He stepped towards her.

She stepped towards him.

They were an inch apart. She had never wanted to kiss a man so badly. Levi’s eyes roamed her face before dropping to her mouth.

‘Is it me or is the universe drawing us together this evening?’ His voice was enticingly soft and low.

If she was entirely honest, Molly wouldn’t have been surprised if it was Ava, incessantly trying to matchmake from beyond the grave. Ava with her many failed attempts to fix Molly up on dates.

From the way he was looking at her, Levi was interested. Very interested.

Molly’s morals got the better of her. Yes, he was handsome.

Yes, he was a billionaire. Yes, the opportunity to persuade him, or someone like him, to take off all their clothes and drink champagne with her in a hot tub overlooking the Alps might never come around again in her lifetime.

But something held her back. He seemed like a decent man.

She did not want to deceive him. Besides, he had just come to her rescue. She owed him.

A clicking sound jolted her out of the trance.

A few feet away, the burlesque entertainer closed the door to the hen party quietly, swept her pillar-box red hair into the hood of her black silk cape and lifted her smiling gaze to Levi.

He stepped away from Molly as though she was on fire.

He fiddled with his bow-tie, clearly embarrassed.

‘Nice to see you again… Angelo, mi amore,’ she said lazily in what sounded very much like a fake Italian accent, now Molly was hearing it for a second time.

The woman flicked her uninterested eyes to Molly and back to Levi.

When he didn’t respond, she did a double take, screwing her eyes at Molly.

‘Wait. It’s you, isn’t it? Aren’t you the one who broke the famous camel? ’

Mortified, Molly tried to deny it. ‘No. Absolutely not.’

‘Yes, it was you.’ The redhead put her hands to her hips. ‘That was a priceless antique. Over a hundred years old. It came all the way from the film studio in America.’

Molly’s neck prickled. ‘It was a health and safety hazard. I was testing it.’

As though that was any better.

The redhead tutted loudly, turning to Levi presumably for some sort of agreement. ‘She should be sued! Wilful criminal damage.’

Shitting hell. There was nothing like being made a fool of in front of France’s most handsome man to make you want to fill your pockets full of rocks and walk into the nearest lake. Luckily for Molly there were no lakes within a hundred-mile radius.

Instead, Levi gave Molly a mischievous grin. ‘You have had an eventful night, haven’t you? I’m sure my team of lawyers can reach some sort of amicable agreement.’ He nodded curtly to the redhead. ‘Leave it with me. I’ll sort it.’

‘Fine. Call me,’ the redhead demanded brusquely in a sulky voice, flapping her silky cape with annoyance.

Molly was pleased Levi did not reply. He gave her a cursory nod, and they watched her saunter away. A proper saunter, Molly was disheartened to see. She took in a deep breath to regain her composure. ‘A friend of yours?’

She noticed Levi’s cheeks redden slightly. He cleared his throat. ‘No. She works here. Occasionally.’

‘Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Angelo .’

Intrigued, Molly wondered why he didn’t correct her.

More to the point, Levi obviously did break the rules from time to time.

Perhaps he was not so angelic after all.

She held his gaze. The energy between them was obvious.

It was causing a major about-turn. If he was withholding his true identity, should she do the same?

They stood gazing at each other.

‘Would you like to get a drink? Shelter from the storm together?’

Molly held her breath as she contemplated what was being asked.

The sentence was loaded with sexual tension, its meaning unmistakably clear.

And it was a few moments before Molly realised that she was the one who had spoken.

They were her words, not his. She was propositioning him , not the other way round.

Levi visibly swallowed. ‘Like I mentioned earlier, I have a room here. We could shelter there.’

Shel-ter:

(noun) A place or sanctuary to provide protection (against further interruptions)

(verb) To find temporary refuge (in a bubbling hot tub quaffing champagne)

Besides, it was the way he said it, thick with a sexual undercurrent. At least, that was what she was telling herself. Molly stepped towards him and reached out to press a gloved hand lightly on his chest. She looked up at him through her lashes. ‘Let’s go.’

Levi took her hand, and they walked quickly to the lift in silence. The moment the doors opened, Molly was in such a state of excitement that she pressed against him as he jabbed the button, both of them wide-eyed and slightly panting. She had never felt so alive.

When the door closed, she looped her arms around his neck.

He reached down to trail his fingers up her stockings, inhaling sharply as they connected with the smooth, silky flesh of her thighs.

He let out a low groan as though he was incapable of stopping.

The sensation caused pangs of lust to shoot straight to her nether region.

Molly’s eyes were drawn to his lips. ‘Kiss me.’ He was having a catastrophic effect on her, and as he dipped his head, she launched at him, hungry for his kisses, desperate with desire.

He hoicked her leg up to his hip, holding it in place while he kissed her neck, her throat, her lips.

He tangled his hand lightly in her hair, gently pressing her against the wall of the lift so that their limbs entwined.

Running her hands up and down his back, she spread her fingers out wide to cup his rock-hard buttocks.

She brought him closer, causing him to moan against her mouth.

She felt him harden through the soft fabric of his expensive tuxedo as their kiss deepened.

She liked the effect she was having on him.

It made her feel powerful and sexual. He seemed to want her as much as she wanted him.

‘Who are you?’ he whispered, sounding unravelled to his core.

At this point, it was anyone’s guess. She barely recognised herself. ‘Does it matter?’ she answered breathily. Had he not heard of a holiday fling? A crazy, regrettable one-night stand?

Levi stopped briefly to murmur in her ear, ‘Yeah, it kinda does.’

‘Milly,’ she moaned as his lips trailed kisses down her neck and across her collarbone. He was reducing her brain to mush. ‘My name’s Milly. No. I mean Molly. Christ Almighty. My name’s Molly.’

‘You sure about that?’ He chuckled. It was the sexiest sound she’d ever heard.

Now really wasn’t a good time for a quiz. Especially if she couldn’t answer the basics.

Levi clamped a hand to her breast, letting out a small desirous moan as he rolled his thumb over the corset, laced tightly, keeping everything in place. ‘What do you do, Molly?’

Besides crashing weddings, humping camels and throwing myself at handsome strangers?