Free Billion Dollar Bastard: An Alpha Male Step Brother Billionaire Romance by Helen Lucas Page A

graced her pretty face.
     
    “It’s… Good.”
     
    “You’re not going to do anymore work tonight after that, are you?”
     
    She shook her head.
     
    “Then my work here is done. Take me to my car, kiddo,” I said, another five finding its way from my wallet into the waiter’s hand. I’d given this poor jerk enough trouble this evening anyway.
     
    We picked our way through the reception as it let out. I pressed the flesh of professors and administrators, all hoping for a private audience with me. I assured them that I would be on campus regularly, that my office in New York was open to them, passing out business cards with a smile. Little did they know that those were the old business cards—the number on them connected to a chiropractor’s office now. I had become a master of avoiding people when I need to.
     
    Damn it all to hell, Karen. Here I had a reservation at Dorsia for two people, with only one in attendance. If there was anything I hated, it was eating alone in public.
     
    For a moment, I thought about calling Liana. No, that was clearly a terrible idea. I absolutely should not do that. Bad Kyle. Bad.
     
    Well, I supposed I would just see if Nicholas were still in the city or if he had retreated to Connecticut for the weekend.
     
    It was then that I saw Masha, standing by the bar, a bored look on her pretty young face.
     
    I felt my chance arriving. I could fuck her easily, of course, but the way it would affect Karen would be more fun.
     
    Bad Kyle. Bad.
     
    Masha was absorbed in her cellphone when I approached her. I gently took it out of her hands and put it to sleep.
     
    “It’s impolite to text at social gatherings,” I instructed her. She blushed, a smile spreading on her face. “You should cultivate the habit of socializing with your peers in a charming way. You’ll find it does a whole lot more for your life than Twitter.”
     
    “Okay. You’re right.”
     
    I gave her the phone back.
     
    “I’m heading back to New York. My date for dinner cancelled on me. Tell your boyfriend to go play Settlers of Cataan or whatever tonight.”
     
    Masha’s eyes widened.
     
    “Mr. Stone—“
     
    “Kyle.”
     
    “Kyle… I can’t…”
     
    “Oh, Masha, don’t make me beg. You wouldn’t like me when I beg. I just look so pathetic, rolling around on the ground like a little puppy dog.”
     
    She bit her lip.
     
    “Come on, do something crazy. You’re in graduate school and pretty soon, you’ll have a PhD in English. You’ll be a professor. Do something wild before you end up like—“ I glanced behind me to see Karen entering the room, her cosmo half-empty already. “Like Karen.”
     
    I waved at her and she frowned. She mouthed to me: “You’re still here?”
     
    I winked back.
     
    “Okay! Okay, let’s do it. Am I dressed okay?”
     
    “No,” I confessed. “So we’ll be stopping at Bergdorf’s on the way.”
     
    “What?! Really?!”
     
    I shrugged. “I need you dressed to get in. Now, wave bye-bye to Karen.”
     
    Masha and I both turned and waved to my ex-sister. She was positively fuming: her face trembling, her knuckles stretched tight around her glass. Perfect.
     
    I slid my arm around Masha’s waist as we left the club.
     
    “I’ve got a hell of a night planned for you….” I whispered to her, one eye still on Karen. I saw her face contort, darken. Yes. That’s right.
     
    Get mad, girl. Get jealous.
     

 
    KAREN
     
    I doubted I’d ever be able to forgive Kyle for what he did.
     
    I should have forced myself to stop thinking about him, stop thinking about him and Masha. I couldn’t help but imagine it, though. The images of them… Together… Flooded my mind’s eye.
     
    He’d take her into town, let her freshen up at his apartment first. Maybe some shopping first. A casual hand finding its way to Masha’s ass, squeezing and groping, but gently, playfully.
     
    Then, a limo would pick them up. A long, black, stretch limo.