Page 42 of Untouchable Billionaire (The Hardcore Novels: Special Editions #1)

I turn to find Brad standing behind me.

He doesn't invite me to dance. He takes my empty glass and walks behind the bar. He pours me another splash of Crown, pushes it to me, then pours himself a glass of Lambrusco Italian Red wine. He lifts it, takes a sip, then asks. "Are you enjoying yourself so far, Siri?"

His eyes touch mine briefly, then he watches the dance floor, detached.

I raise my glass and take a sip. Watching him over the rim of my drink, I study him. "Yes, I am. Darren is such a gentleman, and Mac is a real cowboy. Good guys."

"Yes. They are." He drinks his wine.

I wait for him to ask me something, but he doesn't. He is silent, so I ask. "Do you dance?"

"Sometimes. You're excellent, by the way."

"Thanks." I wait, but he doesn't engage. "Are you going to ask me to dance?"

"No." His eyes absentmindedly follow his wife. Bella is walking onto the dance floor with Mac.

One thing I learned early on in Vegas is that a lot of men hire women, not for sex but for conversation. Sex is a bonus. Now, to crack that shell. I lean away from the bar and look up at the house surrounding us. "The house is fantastic!"

"Ah, yes it is." He looks up at the balcony and the back of the house.

"I thought about majoring in Architecture in college. Who designed this?"

He tells me who, and I ask if he is a member of the house.

He smirks. "No. He isn't. He's too old."

"How old is too old?"

"He's fifty."

"Ah, so yours is a Ken and Barbie group?"

"Yes." He nods, and I see a spark in his dull eyes.

"Well, please relay my compliments to him then. Tell him you had a guest who appreciated the intricate detail with which he reproduced your antebellum mansion. That she also prefers the Greek Revival plantation style. It is exquisitely beautiful. Well done."

He turns his undivided attention to me. Although his good looks are striking, I appreciate the intelligence I see looking back at me. His eyes smile first, then his mouth, and I smile back and look him in the eye as an equal.

I am going to relight your fire one way or the other tonight. No one should be bored, especially with sex.

"You are exquisitely beautiful as well, Siri."

"Thank you," I answer as I look out over the dance floor. "Bella is exquisitely beautiful too."

"She likes you very much. She thinks you have promise."

"Does she?" I smile as I look for Bella.

She is standing next to Mandy. Mandy puts her hand to her mouth and touches Bella's arm.

She goes up on her toes to whisper in her ear.

Bella nods her head to hear but doesn't lean over.

Mandy's enormous tits are brushing her arm.

Bella tells her she can't hear her and puts her arm around her, pulling her closer. Mandy's tits collide with Bella's.

Well played.

I turn to look back at Brad. "Bella thinks I have promise?" I take a sip of my Crown.

"Yes, she does. She thinks you are going to fit in perfectly with us."

I smile at him. "Promise is an interesting choice of words."

He takes a long drink of wine, and I look at the back of the house. "What is beyond the wall of shrubs? I hear water running."

"We have an infinity pool below. It looks out over the flower gardens."

"Sweet. How big are the flower gardens?"

"Five acres. The gardens surround the whole house. They help with maintaining our privacy."

"What surrounds your property?"

"Farmland is on three sides, but the Golf course is on the back." He points in that direction. "Our property butts up to the number seven fairway."

"That's interesting. Is it only a flower garden, or does it have other uses?"

"We have hidden alcoves placed throughout." He grins. "Do you play golf?"

"Why?"

He grins and nods. "There is a path that runs off the back of the house and connects with the Golf Course. We could rendezvous for a clandestine meeting."

I smirk and flirt. "You like it spicy, don't you?"

"Rules are important and necessary, but a little spice is nice too."

"Otherwise, it gets boring."

"Exactly!" He nods.

"I get ya."

We both take a drink from our glasses. "Tell me about the levels of spice allowed in the house."

I look at Bella and Mandy watching TD. "Do y'all keep it hetero only, or is mixing it up allowed? Darren mentioned a porn-binge-inspired orgy, so I know threesomes or more are cool but is gay or lesbian sex okay?"

He takes a sip of wine, looks away at Bella, then answers. "No."

"But some wish that it was?"

He nods, then surprises me with an involuntary reaction. His eyes drift off Bella, pause on someone else, slightly narrow before he blinks hard and rapidly looks back to his wife. Only my trained eye would have noticed it; it was almost invisible.

Hmm. Now that was truly interesting.

I study him while he watches his wife. They smile at each other, and she blows him a kiss.

I'm not even sure he knows himself that he's attracted to TD. But if he's genuinely bored with sex, that may be an option to help spice it up for him.

"Then let's answer that with 'not yet.'"

"Okay. Not yet." He grins and looks back at me.

"You haven't asked me any questions. Aren't you curious about me?" I flirt with him now.

He puts his lips together, looks me over, then asks. "Where do you dance?"

I grin. "Vegas."

He raises his eyebrows.

I chuckle. Now I have your attention.

"What kind of dancing do you do?" He asks.

"What you would expect in Vegas," I state, then laugh at his look. There is no boredom in his demeanor now. "Pour us another and show me the pool. I'll tell you my Vegas story."

"I can't wait to hear how an Alabama girl lost herself in Sin City."

"It's quite a story."

When the drinks are poured, he uses his wine glass to point to the pool. "Shall we?"

I follow Brad down to the infinity pool. The water is purple!

"Oh, my! This is unbelievably beautiful!"

I take my shoes off, walk to the edge and stick my toes in. It is warm and inviting, so I start to sit on the side.

Brad appears with a towel and spreads it out. He offers his hand.

I take it and sit, letting the warm liquid engulf my feet.

He rolls up his pants legs, removes his shoes and socks, and sits down with me. We soak our feet as we chat.

"So tell me your Vegas story."

"Well. Let's be clear. I wasn't lost. I was found."

I start with graduation from FSU and tell him about Piper and me heading to Vegas. How we stayed all summer, dancing on the bar of Coyote Ugly. I share several of our extreme escapades, and we laugh about them. "We found ourselves involved in some unique situations."

"It sounds like it."

I end my tale with how she left. "My BFF abandoned me, and I had to make a decision. Stay and dance, or come home and crunch corporate numbers." I smirk at him. "My degree is in accounting."

"I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years." He laughs. "So you stayed and danced?"

"I sure did. I got a better job dancing at a better club, and I have never looked back." I laugh. "I live a life others only dream of." I kick the water hard and splash it.

"Hometown girl makes it big in the City."

We sit in silence and watch the ripples settle down. "Do you miss it?"

"Terribly! I can't wait to go home."

"Do you miss someone?"

"No," I say flatly. "Just my team and my friends."

"No? I find that hard to believe." He jokes.

"It's true. You see, the problem is most dudes label me a whore. All they are after is a good fuck. But sex is my job. Not the act itself, but I am surrounded by the fantasy and provide it in the form of sensual stimulation." I glance at him. "I don't want a fuck buddy. I want a lover."

I kick the water again. "The whore label is impossible to overcome. I tried in the beginning but just gave up. I love dancing, and dancing loves me, and that's been enough."

"Never give up. Love is worth searching for." He surprises me with the passion in his voice. "Bella and I fell in love as children. In middle school, her family moved away. We lost contact, but there was always this hole in my heart where she was supposed to be."

Now he kicks the water. "When I got my license, I stole my dad's car, his credit cards and took off on a road trip to find her."

"How romantic!"

He smirks. "It would have been, but I didn't find her. They had moved again."

"Oh my. That must have been devastating."

"It was. But … obviously, we eventually got back together. My point is don't quit on love. You'll find your someone."

"I've actually met someone here that seems pretty special. I'm hoping he is anyway. He didn't judge me when he learned I dance in Vegas, so that's promising." I look at the water and see Aurei. Damn. I sure hope he is the one.

Brad puts his arm around me and hugs me. "I hope this man you found will love and appreciate you, Siri. Nothing's better than that." Then he starts to laugh out loud.

It's contagious, and I laugh with him. "What's so funny?"

"I had a ridiculous thought."

"What?"

"I just thought, 'Lord! Surely, TD isn't this special dude.'"

I bust out laughing at that. "Now, that's hilarious! Not that he isn't cute, but he's not my type."

"No. He isn't your type."

"Do you know what type he is?"

"Pardon?" He frowns.

"TD's bisexual."

His eyes narrow slightly again. "No. I didn't know that."

"No one knows, but he is."

Before he can ask how I know, Bella says from the steps. "There you two are."

We turn to look at her. I'm struck again by her grace and beauty. We stand up as she walks over. Brad holds his arm out, and she slides into his embrace, puts a hand on his chest, kissing him sweetly on the cheek. "Charlie is looking for Siri."

"Thanks, baby. Siri has quite a story. It's fascinating."

She smiles at me. "I can't wait to hear it."

Brad drops to his knees, takes the towel, and dries my right foot for me.

"Oh, please. No. That's fine." I tell him, but he ignores me and puts on the first shoe. He repeats the process with my left foot, and Bella comes to put her arm around me to steady me.