Page 71 of Unstoppable Billionaire (The Hardcore Novels: Special Editions #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

As we continue down the street, I swing our arms and skip.

Then I start to dance, twirling in and out of his embrace.

He spins me and catches me wearing his happy face and acting as if the girl dancing alongside him is doing nothing in the world unusual.

The crowd on the sidewalk becomes too dense to continue our dance, so I start to sing.

"Ooooo.... OooOooOOOoo.... Ahhhhh...." I belt out Whitney Houston's "All The Man That I Need" at the top of my lungs.

People turn and stare, but they don't frown, and they don't look sad, and they don't seem bored anymore.

"Now you are just showing off, Happy Thang."

My eyes twinkle at him, and I grin, then wink as I hold our hands up and sing to them. "He won't let go!"

Every time our eyes touch, the unspoken word travels between us, and it adds something more to my voice.

I sing to all of Rome that this gorgeous Golden God next to me is truly all the man that I need.

I don't hold anything back. I sing the song with every ounce of my being, and on the last note, I hold it and hold it.

When I finish the song, I give them southern girl swag, pointing my finger, rolling my wrist, and rocking my upper body. "Whoa!"

Aurei claps, and a few other people join him. I blow him a kiss. He turns his face when it lands. His sweet face, grinning and playing with me, makes my heart soar. He rebounds from the pretend kiss and swoops me off my feet.

"Oooo!" I squeal as he spins us around and around in a fast tight circle. My hair sails out away from our bodies with the centrifugal force and we grip each other tight to stay centered and balanced. "Stop. Stop." I giggle. "You're going to get dizzy and drop me."

Laughing, he stops and cradles me. "I'm a pilot. I don't get dizzy from spins."

I laugh with him. "I'm a pole dancer. I don't get dizzy from spins either."

"Good. Cause I'm not finished." He spins again, making me giggle uncontrollably.

When he does finally stop, I'm laughing so hard I'm having trouble breathing. He holds me, laughing until I can gain my breath. I ask between gasps. "What the fuck was that all about?"

"I wanted you to know I really won't let go."

"What?" I lay my head back and laugh out loud. I peek at him from under my lids as I laugh. He is all smiles watching me. His face looks so peaceful. It's hard to imagine that wild thunder lives there as well.

Still cradling me in his arms, he says. "That's who you sound like."

"Who?"

"You sound a lot like Whitney."

I start to laugh again. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Why is that ridiculous?"

"It just is. Whitney. Really?" I roll my eyes at him. "Put me down, please."

He lets my legs go but keeps his arm around me. I'm vertical, but I'm not on my feet. My feet dangle as he holds me tight against him.

"Why is that ridiculous?"

"Because ... she has ... had ... incredible pipes! Naw. I just sang her song exactly like she did."

He smirks. "Exactly."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"What do you mean then?"

"I didn't change it up and do my own thang with it."

"Well.... That's true, but I'm telling you. You sound an awful lot like Whitney."

"Flattery will take you only so far, Mr. Moore," I smirk. "I thought you knew that I value honesty over deceit, and exaggerations, despite their good intentions, are deceitful." I wag my finger at him, then tap his lips with it. "You would be wise to remember that."

"Mmhmm. I will remember that, but I'm straight line, not curved. You will be wise to remember that too about me."

"Touché. Put me down, please. You're squishing my twins."

He sets me gently on my feet but keeps his arms around me. "Have you ever recorded yourself and listened?"

"I've heard myself sing, and I do probably sing better than average, but not like Whitney. That's a stretch."

"Did you hear yourself sing a Whitney song?"

"Honestly, I don't remember. I grew up pretending to be the next American Idol, and my doting grandmother paid for voice lessons. But I wasn't serious about singing. I wanted to dance. My voice coach told her she was wasting her money because every time I started to sing, I ended up dancing."

"I can see that happening. How old were you?"

"Gosh. Maybe ten years old? I don't know." I shrug my shoulders.

"I'll record you in my studio, and you can hear what I hear."

My eyes light up. "What all do you have in your studio? I thought you only did photography."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Kitten Thang." He smirks.

"I've got nine lives then, so answer, and we will subtract one."

He laughs and looks over my head. "I have both a photography and a sound studio. Now you have eight."

"Hmm." I tap my foot and tap my lips, thinking. "So ... you have both. Do you record videos?" I grin.

"Yes. Seven left."

"Excellent! We can record ourselves!" I pump my fist in the air. "Whoot! Whoot! I got off on watching Scarlett 's video of our kiss. It was fucking hot! And yesterday, the view in the mirror was incredible too." I push off him, grab his hand then pull him.

"Where are you going? The station is this way." He points in the opposite direction. I tug at him, but he doesn't budge, so I let go and walk off, knowing he will follow me.

"Come on. I saw something we have to explore."

He comes alongside me, takes my hand, and follows.

When I stop, we are standing in front of a young man a few years younger than we are, sitting cross-legged on the ground, strumming his guitar.

He looks like a cross between a vagrant and a hungry college geek.

He stops playing and arranges his collection hat for optimum results. He's both.

Aurei slides behind me, slips his arms around my waist, and whispers in my ear. "Ah, trickery. I thought you found another place for me to explore you."

I kiss his cheek. The young man speaks to Aurei, and they converse in Italian. I hear Aurei say IL Volvo and English.

"Are you requesting a song from IL Volvo?"

"Yes. Have you heard them before?" He asks as he digs into his pants pocket for his money clip.

"No. I know of them, but never heard their music." He tosses a few bills into the hat, and the young man starts to strum the song's melody. "What's the name of the song you requested?"

"'This Time.' Shhhh, Kitten Thang. I want you to listen to the words."

"Yes, Sugar Bare."

Aurei resumes his position behind me. He puts his arms around my waist, mouth at my ear, and he sings softly with the young singer, whose voice is much deeper than his skinny appearance would lead one to believe.

I listen as we sway to the song. They sing about empty stars, beautiful illusions, and wondering if she is even real.

About being cynical but hoping for someone who can be there year after year.

I hear the message Aurei is sending me. He wants me to promise I will stay and not go.

He is waiting for me to give him a sign that what we have is real!

He sings about hoping that I'm the one he can believe in to truly change his history.

He sings about wanting to believe I'm his truth.

That he is home. That I will let him in, and there will be no more doubts.

No more lonely nights. That I will break his free fall and catch him.

When the song is finished, he hums in his throat as he nibbles my ear. "You are my Every Thang, Siri."

"Mmhmm, I am." The singer asks us in English if there are any more requests. "Yes," I spin around in Aurei's arms and whisper. "Give him a big tip, please."

He smirks and growls. "I smell more trickery."

I smile sweetly, batting my eyelashes, making him chuckle. "Your sense of smell is uncanny. Give him the kind of tip that will make him say 'yes' when you ask to use his guitar to serenade your girl."

"Mmhmm. I knew it!"

I look over my shoulder at the musician, and he smiles at us. I turn back to Aurei and lay my hands on his chest. I flex my fingers on him, kneading the tips of them in. "Meow," I say, grinning.

He chuckles. "I see the game you're playing. You're the sexy kitten when you want something now."

"That's right!" He laughs as I bat my eyes at him again. "You only have yourself to blame. You started it."

"Yes, I did, and I can end it too."

I laugh. "But we both know you won't! You can sing something sweet to make me purr."

"Damn it, woman!" He laughs, digs in his pocket, pulls out his money clip, and tosses a wad of bills in the hat. The musician is stunned and eagerly reaches for it as a big smile splits his face. "You have certainly given him a happy face," Aurei tells me, then he asks for the guitar.

The musician offers Aurei the guitar like it was made of gold. Aurei takes it, walks over to the wall, and leans back against it. He bends his knee and props his foot so he can rest the guitar on his thigh. He strums the instrument, tunes it, then hits a few chords.

"What are you going to sing me first?"

"First?" He stops strumming and looks at me with a half-smile.

"Yep, I figured that big a tip should buy you at least two songs."

He smirks and rolls his eyes. "Ann was right about you."

I laugh. "So, what's the first song?"

He strums, watching his left hand work the bridge as he picks the melody. "'Take It To The Limit' by The Eagles with some of my own lyrics thrown in."

"Interesting choice." I grin. "Not exactly the romantic serenade I was hoping for."