Page 6 of Tempting the Billionaire (Billionaire Brothers #5)

Emma

My hands are practically shaking as I unlock the door to my apartment and step through, Ezra following. My brain keeps repeating the last few minutes over and over again in my mind. From humiliation to relief to … attraction?

The fact that Ezra and his wife are separated completely changes everything. For one, it removes the guilt of being a potential homewrecker. And suddenly I’m looking at him in a whole new light. Obviously, I noticed how attractive he was before, but now I’m noticing .

I gesture nervously to the couch while I head to the kitchen to pull out two wine glasses from the cabinet. “Red wine okay?” I call.

“Sounds great,” Ezra replies.

I hurriedly pour two glasses and take a seat next to him on the couch. We sit awkwardly for a moment, before Ezra breaks the silence with, “So, is this how the romance books you read all start?”

I feel myself blushing, and I bite my lip. “Maybe,” I answer.

He smirks down at his wine glass. “I’m surprised,” he finally says.

I furrow my brows. “By what?”

He looks up to meet my gaze, cocking his head just a bit. “Your attraction,” he says bluntly. He doesn’t say it in a self-deprecating way. Not like he has any lack of confidence. He simply stares at me as if trying to solve a puzzle.

Electricity shoots through me by the way he’s looking at me. “Who wouldn’t be attracted to you?” I say, but my voice comes out almost as a whisper, and I can feel my blush growing deeper.

He doesn’t answer, simply takes a sip of his wine. Afterward, he shakes his head slowly. “Emma, I don’t know if we should— ”

Panic sets in, and I stand suddenly. “I’ll be right back,” I tell Ezra, halting what he was going to say.

I leave the living room, entering my bathroom and locking the door behind me. I stand in front of the mirror, staring myself down for a good ten seconds, and then I take a deep breath.

I think about the next part of this plan.

The final part. The part I’d been most nervous about, but an aspect I assumed would be impossible for most men to turn down.

The idea of it sets my heart beating out of my chest, but after what Ezra was just about to say out there, I think I need to lay all my cards on the table.

You can do this , Emma, I tell myself. It’s now or never.

I swallow, close my eyes, and nod to myself. Then I start stripping. I pull my dress over my head, then busy myself with removing my bra and panties until I’m standing in front of the mirror wearing absolutely nothing.

I bite my lip, the nerves in my stomach multiplying by the second.

I reach into my drawer, pulling out some lip gloss and blush and reapplying.

I run my fingers through my hair, enhancing the curls.

I look over myself. While I’ve always been a bit self-conscious about my body, I do know that I’m conventionally attractive.

My breasts are large and full, and I have an hourglass figure .

I can feel the panic rising within me, so before I can change my mind, I grab the door handle and step out into the living room.

Ezra looks up when he hears me enter the room, and his jaw immediately goes slack. He stares at me for a long moment, his gaze sliding along my body, lingering on my breasts that are currently rising and falling with my breath.

He stands slowly, placing the wine glass on the coffee table. He meets my gaze, his eyes filled with confusion, but also curiosity and the telltale signs of attraction. “Emma …” he says slowly.

The way he says my name has my nipples hardening, and I take in a shaky breath.

“What are you doing?” he asks, a slight smirk playing across his face.

I step toward him, spanning the distance between us until I’m barely a foot away from him, looking up into his eyes. “You know what I’m doing,” I breathe, reaching up to run my fingers through his hair.

He leans into my hand, his mouth opening just barely. His gaze slides lazily across my body again, taking me in.

I run my hand down the side of his face, his neck, to his chest .

Suddenly, he reaches out to grasp my wrist, and I freeze. This is it. It’s happening. I swallow, forcing myself to remain calm.

“Emma,” he says again, and I’m beginning to love the sound of my name coming from his lips. “Do you really want to do this?” There’s a seriousness in his gaze.

I nod, even though my reasons are far more complicated than he could ever know. “Yes,” I say, reaching for him with my other hand.

But he takes that one too, and suddenly he has both my wrists locked under his control, and he’s boring a hole into my soul with his gaze.

A small smile creeps across his face. He leans toward me, close enough that the tips of my nipples brush against his chest, sending a wave of arousal through me.

His lips brush against my ear, and he whispers, “I know you’re trying to take control.

” His grip on my wrists tightens ever so slightly. “But I like being the one in control.”

He leans back, his eyes on mine again. Gone is the polite, gentlemanly Ezra Bishop, and in his place is a man who looks ready to devour me with just his gaze. My core tightens, and I feel my pussy getting wet.

Fuck. What does that mean? Whatever it means, I’m ready to find out.

But Ezra does the last thing I expect. He lets go of me. He steps back .

I stand there, shocked while he shoots me a smirk. “I take the reins, or we don’t do this.”

I find myself with no other option than to nod, suddenly overcome with the humiliating fact that I’m standing here naked before him and we aren’t …

doing anything . And the longer we go without doing anything, the more humiliating it becomes.

Touch me , my body begs him. Touch me now . Everywhere. All at once.

“Good girl.”

My mouth drops open, and a fire alights in my lower belly.

“We’ll fuck when I say we’re going to fuck,” he says simply. He spans the distance between us, brushing his lips gently across mine. But just as quickly as they’re there, his lips are gone, and he’s turning toward the couch, grabbing his coat, and heading for the door.

I watch him go in complete shock. The door shuts behind him, leaving me alone and naked in my apartment.