Page 12 of Scandalous Whispers (Alpha Billionaire #28)

PARKER

“ T hank you, Gordon.” I wrapped my arm around Haley’s waist and shut the door behind Gordon as he left.

“Look, I’m not wasted. I just rolled my ankle on the step, okay?” She pushed me away and dusted herself off. Mulch clung to her jeans and the jacket she wore, and I tried to respect her, but I could tell she’d been drinking.

“Okay, well there is no judgment at all.” I backed away and watched as she grimaced at the bits of mulch that peppered the Persian rug stretched out across my travertine floors.

It was nothing a broom and a vacuum couldn’t fix, but the look on her face was one of mortification. “Can I take your jacket?”

“Uh, no, that’s okay.” She hugged her arms over her chest and shook her head.

Then her eyes grazed over the entryway and up the twin, curved marble staircases to the second floor where a crystal chandelier obscured the view of the landing.

Her jaw dropped as she tilted her head back to stare at the domed ceiling where I had an artist paint a landscape of the sky. “Oh, God…”

I chuckled at her amazement and gazed upward with her.

I forgot at some point how amazing the artwork was.

I lived in this ten-thousand-square-foot home and only made use of three rooms, mostly—the den, the dining room, and my master suite.

It was a status symbol and nothing more.

I really could have been happy in a simple two-bedroom home in Oak Park.

“Yeah, he did a great job on that. Amazing that even on a three-story scaffolding the artist could create such a masterpiece.” I looked back at her pale face. “Are you okay?”

“Parker, I can’t be here.” She shook her head in an apologetic manner and backed toward the door.

“What? Why?”

“Look at this place. That chandelier alone probably cost more than my car. Look, I don’t know about all of this.” Her hand rested on the doorknob and I hurried to her side. “Please, just let me leave. I’m sorry for waking you up. You’re my boss. I really shouldn’t be?—"

“Haley Spencer, stop it.” I rested my hand over hers, and she peered up at me.

“Now, you asked me a pretty serious question, and I want you to know the answer.” I held my hand out in a gesture indicating she should come with me.

She looked away and frowned, but she followed.

I led her into my den. “I’d ask if you want a drink, but it appears you’ve had enough tonight.

” I pointed at the couch. “Have a seat.”

She slumped onto the brown leather sofa, but she kept her arms hugged over her stomach, hunched over in a very closed-off posture.

I got myself a glass of Scotch and sat next to her, watching as her eyes studied the room.

Three of the walls were covered in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, loaded with every book I’d ever read and a myriad of books I hadn’t but wanted to.

Some were from my mother’s collection, passed to me at her death.

Others were first editions that meant nothing sentimental, but I preserved them as an investment.

“You like books?” she asked, her jaw hanging loose.

“Of course I do. Why do you think I got interested in the paper? Not only am I a book lover, but I’m a writer too. I plan to write my own memoir, though I do dabble in fiction at times.” I sipped my whiskey and saw her relax. She shed her coat and left it lying on the sofa behind her.

“I had no idea.”

“You didn’t ask. In fact, you’ve really just been avoiding me since we had sex, and even though we had dinner, I still have questions.

So let’s make a deal. I will answer your questions if you answer mine.

” I downed the Scotch, ready to dig into this issue we’d been facing.

She angled her body to face me and nodded.

“I’ll go first,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “Was what I told you on the phone true? Is Rachel right?”

“You mean that I’m using you and manipulating you so you’ll do what I want?

” I looked down my nose at her, and she stared down at her hands.

“Absolutely not. I’d never do that to anyone.

What a selfish and demeaning thing to do to a person.

And no, I’m not flashing my money around to impress you.

If you don’t like what you see, feel free to leave.

I don’t use my money to gain attention. Who would ever want to be wanted only because of their monetary value? ”

Tears glistened in her eyes as she looked up at me. My words must have struck a nerve because her cheeks were flushed. “When you say it like that, it makes my question seem stupid.”

I leaned forward and clasped her hands in mine. “Not at all. You’re protecting your heart, and so is your friend. She sounds like a wonderful friend and you’re lucky to have her. I just need you to know I’m not that shallow.”

Haley nodded and blinked, and a tear trickled down her face. I hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings, though it was likely the fact that she was still under the influence of alcohol so she was more emotional than normal.

“Okay, your turn.” She swiped at her tears and blinked back the rest, then returned her hand to my grasp. “What do you want to ask me?”

“Well, I’d like to know if you enjoyed that night with me? I’d like to know if you feel like this is going somewhere.” I felt the atmosphere of the room change, and all it took was her expression softening.

Her mouth turned up at the corners and her head dipped as a smile stretched across her face.

The mood lightened, and she looked back up at me, biting her lower lip.

She didn’t speak for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts.

A strand of her wavy hair fell across her eyes, but she didn’t move it.

Instead, she looked up at me through her lashes and nodded.

“I enjoyed it very much. In fact, I think I’m developing feelings for you, but that seems really wrong since you’re my boss and I don’t want people to think that I’m just a tramp who is sleeping her way to the top.” When she tried to pull her hands away, I gripped them more firmly.

“Let them talk, Haley. I’m the boss. They don’t mean a thing to me other than a great company and a smooth-running news machine.

Okay? If they don’t approve, they’ll move on and we’ll hire new writers and editors.

The only thing that matters to me is what you think.

If you can find your confidence in my disregard for their opinions, we can do this. ”

Haley stared at me in shock, though she stopped trying to back away. “You really don’t care what they say?”

“I don’t. You know why?” She shook her head at me, and I continued. “Because I’m falling in love with you too, and no company, or gossip, or anything else should stand in the way of that. I’m too old to care what people think. I know what I want.” I leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

“What do you want?” she asked timidly.

“I want you. And I want to see where this goes.” I cupped her cheek and turned her face upward, placing soft kisses on her lips.

“Me too,” she hummed, returning my kisses. She leaned into me, resting her hands on my chest as she did so. We kissed for a moment before she turned away. “You don’t think drunken sex is a mistake? I mean, the other night was so impulsive.”

“I think when something feels right, you enjoy it, and I have no intention of this just being more drunken sex. I really like you.” I hooked my hand around her lower back and pulled her hips toward me. “Now, should I stop this, or do you think we should go upstairs?”

“Definitely upstairs.” Haley kissed me again and shied away, standing up.

I took her hand and led her out of the den and up the stairs.

Her eyes took in everything, the expensive artwork and hand-crafted banisters.

She looked out of place, but only because of her reaction.

Haley fit in my life as much as any of the expensive material things I owned.

I opened the bedroom door and let her in, shutting it behind us. She seemed hesitant to enter, so I nudged her from behind. “Nervous?” I asked, shedding my robe and slippers.

“Uh, no… Just overwhelmed.” She moved farther into the room, peeling her jacket off as she walked. She tossed it on the end of my four-post bed. “I can’t believe you live like this. I thought that was for movie stars and professional athletes.”

She turned around to face me, and I chuckled as I advanced on her.

The top she wore revealed more cleavage than I was used to seeing from her outfits, and I loved the tight-fitting jeans.

It was the most casual I’d seen her dress, and now I wanted to see her undressed.

I took hold of her waistband and undid the button.

She watched me for a moment before helping by pulling her top off over her head.

Her delicious creamy skin called to me, and I couldn’t resist diving into her cleavage.

I raked my teeth across the inside of her left breast as I pushed her jeans and panties down over her hips, then sucked on her skin as she wriggled out of them.

As I unhooked her bra strap, she pulled my shirt up my back, so I backed away and let her pull it off over my head.

“I have been craving this for more than a week,” she muttered as my lips returned to her skin, finding her nipple and sucking it. “Wow, yes, that feels amazing.” Her hands smoothed over my back, fingernails scratching me with each movement.

I pushed on her gently, and she fell backward onto the bed. She giggled as she landed, hands splayed to her sides as she watched me push my pajama pants and briefs down. My dick was already half-chub and eager to make her mine again, but she clicked her tongue at me.

“Ah, ah… No raincoat, no dip in the pool.” Her playful way of asking for a condom made me laugh.

“Is that what they call them now? Raincoats?” I reached to my nightstand drawer where I had a box of them and pulled one out.

“Well,” she said, scooting up toward the headboard over the disheveled mess of blankets, “I call them that sometimes. You think I’m a dork or something?”

I shrugged. “I guess they’ll make a movie about us, won’t they? They’ll call it Billionaire and the Dork .” I crawled across the mattress and kissed her knee, watching up at her face as I spread her legs.

“I hardly think I’m movie worthy.” She propped herself on her elbows as I kissed my way up her inner thigh.

“I’d want these scenes to be private, anyway—my eyes only.” I flicked my tongue across her clit and grinned as she twitched. “Unless you’d like to record them so we can watch them together later on… The Billionaire Sex Tapes , starring Haley Spencer.”

She snickered and lay back, lacing her fingers through my hair as I slid my tongue through her slit, already ripe with moisture.

The salty-sweet flavor of her juices teased my cock to a full erection, and I touched myself while I ate her, indulging in her soft moans of pleasure.

She arched her hips upward, then down, her hands pulling at my hair.

“God, that’s amazing. Yeah… like that…”

I enjoyed the way she clawed at my shoulders, then yanked my hair, as if begging me for more.

I gave it to her, pushing my fingers into her pussy and feeling the rough patch, inflamed and screaming for attention.

With calculated movements, I massaged her while sucking her clit.

Her strong muscles clenched around me, and her shudders shook the bed as a climax crashed into her, forcing her to convulse.

“Oh, God,” she moaned out, now digging her sharp fingernails into my shoulders. I endured, knowing she was in complete ecstasy, and continued working her pussy until she calmed.

As I straightened, I tore open the condom wrapper and tossed it aside, then rolled it on. She lay limp, eyes shut, not watching me. But as I positioned myself between her legs, ready to slide into her, she opened her eyes and grinned. “That was incredible. Do it again.”

I thrust in, feeling her heat wrap around me. The way her pussy squeezed me felt incredible. It was like she gripped me on purpose. I growled and lowered myself until our bodies touched, and she bit my chest.

“Wow… your dick is huge.” She panted, pulling at my hips as I pushed into her.

“Yeah, I bet you’ll like it even more if you wrap your legs around my body.

” I nibbled her ear, breathing heavily, and she did as I told her.

Her legs gripped my hips, making her pelvis rock upward so I could go deeper, and she took my full length.

I drove into her harder, drawing whimpers of pleasure from her lips.

“Oh, God, you’re going to make me come again,” she groaned.

I was enjoying it too much to speak. I gritted my teeth and sucked in a huge breath as her pussy clamped down around my cock.

Her second orgasm was powerful, her body fighting to expel me as I shoved into her.

It made the sensations even more intense, and I felt the pressure in my groin grow to critical mass.

My body released, dumping its load and filling the sleeve.

I wished I could feel her skin around me, but I respected her too much to disregard her wishes.

I kissed her hard, sliding in and out of her as the pulsing in my dick slowed and her body relaxed beneath me.

I had meant what I said. I was the boss, and if anyone had a problem with me and Haley seeing each other, they could leave.

Present company excluded. She was mine now, and I wasn’t going to let anything or anyone come between us.