Millionaire Playboys: Paying the Playboy's Price. Emilie Rose

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СКАЧАТЬ for hurting the two people who’d loved him the most. Mindless sex could cure a lot of things—including guilt—for a while. He ought to know.

      He fisted his hands against the urge to stroke Juliana into wakefulness. Oh yeah. It would be so easy to be that selfish SOB with her. And that was exactly why he had to keep his distance. He couldn’t go back, couldn’t risk letting Kelly and the girls down the way he’d let his folks down.

      But Juliana being out here instead of in his bed could work to his advantage. He’d take a shower and wash away the temptation along with the food and bar smells, and then he’d wake Juliana and send her to his bed. Alone.

      As quietly as possible, Rex entered his room to collect fresh clothing. The sight of her suits lined up beside his jeans in the closet rattled him. He extracted what he needed and headed for the bathroom, only to receive another shock. Her toiletries neatly lined the counter and her shampoo stood next to his in the shower stall.

      Yesterday, he’d wanted to get away from her. Today, she’d moved in. Oh yeah, his life was definitely veering out of control, but he’d learned the hard way how destructive that could be. It wasn’t a mistake he’d repeat.

      He stripped off his clothing, stepped into the shower and lathered briskly, valiantly fighting traitorous thoughts of Juliana’s soap-slickened hands gliding over his skin, but he was too tired to maintain his mental barricades. In seconds, he had a painful hard-on begging for attention. He twisted the faucet to cold and shivered in the bone-jarring, frigid water while he rinsed off the soap and shampoo. After toweling off and pulling on clean jeans and a T-shirt, he set his shoulders. Time to put temptation to bed and try to catch some shut-eye before this merry-go-round started again tomorrow. Saturday. Juliana’s day off. How would he concentrate on work knowing she was in his apartment all day?

      He stopped beside the sofa and struggled with the bite of awareness. He couldn’t forget the softness of her skin or the taste of her mouth. Dammit. He couldn’t remember ever getting turned on so fast or having a woman haunt his thoughts day and night. Had to be the celibacy screwing with his head.

      One week. He could hold out until Kelly returned home and then, debt or no debt, he’d dump Juliana.

      “Juliana,” he whispered. She didn’t stir. He didn’t want to raise his voice and risk waking the girls. “Juliana, wake up.”

      Nothing. Damn. He’d have to touch her. But where? The bare skin of her shoulder was too close to the shadowy area between her breasts. Too risky. He patted her kneecap. “Juliana.”

      She startled, inhaled a quick breath and jerked upright. “What? Oh, hello.”

      “Go to bed.”

      She blinked owlishly and scanned the room as if she couldn’t remember where she was or how she’d gotten there. She looked flustered and adorable and kissable. Damn.

      She shoved her hair out of her face. “The girls?”

      “Asleep.”

      She yawned and her breasts lifted beneath her satiny shirt. “Becky had a nightmare. I guess I dozed off.”

      The quiet statement struck with the sudden impact of a rock hitting his truck’s windshield. A crack slowly snaked through the resistance he fought so hard to maintain. “Nice of you to listen out for her.”

      What was it about her that fueled his engine like nobody else had? He’d met prettier women, women with bigger boobs and longer legs. But he couldn’t remember one from his past who got to him this way, let alone one who’d have volunteered for the non-glamorous, tough job of babysitting somebody else’s kids. Not that he’d ever known any of his past lovers that well.

      Slowly, she unfolded and stood, and then she stumbled and fell against his chest. He caught her upper arms. Her fingers splayed over his heart. She couldn’t miss the rapid-fire beat.

      Her slumberous gaze lifted to his. “Sorry. My foot’s asleep.”

      And not one single, sorry cell in his body was. His hands tightened. He wanted her so bad, he ached with it. Wanted to taste her damp lips. Wanted to caress her flushed skin. Wanted to bury his face in the valley between her breasts and make her as hungry for him as he was for her. Wanted to push her back on the sofa and bury himself between her long legs.

      What would it hurt? It’s what she wants prompted the selfish bastard lurking inside him.

      Rex’s jaw muscles protested his tooth-gritting abuse, and he battled with the throbbing need he should have satisfied in the shower. No, it wouldn’t have been as good as the real thing, but he could have taken the edge off his craving.

      User. An icy drop of water from his wet hair snaked down his spine, shocking him into clearheadedness. He set her away, holding on only until he was sure she had her footing.

      “Go to bed, Juliana.”

      All dressed up and no place to go.

      Juliana paced Rex’s bedroom. An early riser by habit, she’d awoken without an alarm. She needed coffee immediately and a newspaper soon. Today’s edition should contain Octavia Jenkins’s first installment about the auction. Juliana didn’t want to wake Rex or the girls by running the sputtering coffee machine, and she didn’t know if he subscribed to the local paper.

      Clutching her key to the apartment and her wallet, she eased open the bedroom door. As silently as possible, she tiptoed into the den. Her heart stalled when she spotted Rex sprawled on the sofa and then raced as her gaze drank him in. His shiny hair spilled over the cappuccino-colored leather like bittersweet chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate. His bare feet hung over the opposite end. He’d shed his shirt and unbuttoned the top button on his jeans. The sheet he’d used lay puddled on the floor beside him. Her gaze returned to that unfastened brass button and the shadow of his navel behind it, and then raked over his bare chest to his bristly chin and parted lips.

      Her mouth dried. He definitely knew how to use those lips. The question was how did she get him to use them again. On her. With each encounter, her desire to be held against that broad hair-spattered chest grew and her ambivalence over this crazy scheme faded, but she didn’t appear to be getting any closer to her goal, so her uncertainty was a moot point. What was she going to do to tempt him next, and how far could she go with the girls in the house?

      She tiptoed to the girls’ door and found them sleeping peacefully. Her heart twinged a little. She’d never expected to enjoy caring for them so much. They were sweet and funny and obviously adored their uncle. Unfortunately, Juliana was getting a bit too fond of their uncle as well. The idea of one month of naughty thrills and then a quick goodbye didn’t sound nearly as attractive as it once had. In fact, she wondered if one month would be enough.

      She wanted to know more about Rex Tanner than her online searches had revealed. Like what put those shadows in his dark eyes? And what had driven a man at the top of his career to self-destruct? Unfortunately, the girls couldn’t tell her and Rex wouldn’t.

      Rex slept through her examination, but that was understandable since he’d only come upstairs four hours ago. Juliana eased through his apartment door—the one leading to the exterior stairs instead of through Renegade—aiming for the coffee shop she’d spotted down the street yesterday. The early morning humidity clung to her skin on the short walk. She purchased her caffeine fix and a newspaper and headed back to Rex’s, where she settled at the picnic table on his upstairs deck overlooking the Cape СКАЧАТЬ