Claiming the Billionaire by JM Stewart

Author:JM Stewart [Stewart, JM]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2017-01-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

When Tyler slid into the driver’s seat beside her and closed his door, Cassie turned her head to look at him. “This wager of yours? I accept.”

She’d done a lot of thinking since their conversation this afternoon. If she was going to do this, then she had to go all in, but she had conditions. It was sneaky, really, and had guilt tightening her chest. She’d be pushing him beyond his boundaries. He’d been through hell, but it was time she faced this head-on.

And hell. Who was she kidding? She didn’t bowl. She had to put herself out there, though, because she needed tonight. She wanted one night in his arms. To wake up to his gorgeous rumpled head in the morning. Like she needed to breathe or eat or create her jewelry, she needed him to stay. And maybe, just maybe, her idea would put a fun twist on it.

“You don’t even know what it is.” He grinned, his eyes illuminated and playful. For the first time since he’d come back, he didn’t seem weighed down by the things that had happened to him.

She waved a hand in the air between them. “Don’t care. I’m game. But I have a demand of my own, should I win. You go first. I know you. You have something up your sleeve. What is it we’re betting for?”

He turned in his seat to fully face her. “All right. If I win, you have to spend an entire week with me. Not just this one night.”

That immediately stiffened her spine. Okay, so apparently he didn’t intend to play fair, either. She lifted a brow. “And if I win?”

“What do you want?” He leaned back in his seat and shrugged, like giving her whatever she’d demand was easy. Like he’d give her anything.

She drew a deep breath, her stomach knotting in anticipation of the denial she knew was coming. “You have to stay. All night.”

His easy smile melted from his face, that haunted look returning to his eyes. Several moments passed in silence. When he turned to the console and pushed the button to start the car, she didn’t miss the way his fingers trembled. The engine purred to life, and the tension in the small space became a sharp point between them.

In the silence that filled the car, their conversation two days before floated into her thoughts. Lying in the dark, listening to the sound of his voice, low and etched with a raw sort of honesty. As if it cost him a lot simply to say the words out loud.

“They took everything from me. My freedom. My ability to live a normal life.”

“To have the woman I’m trying to impress know I came back half the man I used to be…they may as well have lopped off my balls while they were at it.”

Guilt tightened in her chest and doubt rose over her. She was trying to be strong, to hold on to her principles, but at what cost? The knowledge didn’t make her feel proud, or strong, or independent.

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