Free The Billionaire's Secret: A BWWM Romance Mystery by Mia Caldwell

the dunes of the Sahara. It was weird and otherworldly
and maybe that was why I jumped so badly when the door banged open.

 
    "What the fuck?!" I shouted
as the icy blast sent my carefully cataloged invoices fluttering to the floor.

 
    "Oh shit, sorry," Liam
rushed to pick them up before they landed in the puddles of melted snow he left
on the floor.

 
    "What the hell are you doing
here?" I demanded, snatching them away.

 
    "Well when you didn't answer my
texts," he bristled, "I decided I had better go see if you were
okay."

 
    "How about Lily, is she okay?' I
shot back.

 
    He stiffened. "Shay...."

 
    "Don't 'Shay' me. I don't give a
shit what kind of sneaky, underhanded stuff you do with your own life, but
don't involve me in it. I'm not interested in being your other woman."

 
    "You're not."

 
    The way he said it, so direct, so
forthright, made me pause. There was no way he was lying...but of course he
was!

 
    "You should go," I told
him.

 
    He crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'll go if you want me to."

 
    I licked my lips. He was a cheating
dog, why was this so hard? "Okay then," I said, trying to keep my
voice from trembling. "Leave."

 
    "No."

 
    "What?"

 
    He shook his head. "I'm not
leaving."

 
    My voice broke. "You said you
would."

 
    He took a step closer to me. His eyes
were so incredible. "I said I would leave if you wanted me to. You don't
want me to."

 
    I could feel the heat rising off of
his body in waves. It carried his scent with it. "You don't know
that."

 
    "I do."

 
    "How?"

 
    He took another step forward, forcing
me to look to at him. "Because you're biting your lip and you're breathing
hard." He swiped his thumb over my lip, raking it down over my teeth and I
hissed. "Because your eyes are as big as saucers and they're begging me to
stay," he brushed a kiss across the place his thumb rested, "and tell
you what you want to hear."

 
    I was finding it hard to say anything
but echo his words. "And what do I want to hear?"

 
    He pulled back. "That I'm not a
fucking cheater. On you or on anyone else."

 
    I barked out a laugh, short and
bitter. "And how am I supposed to believe that?"

 
    "Because I am telling you. You
said you needed to be able to trust me. Well, I am telling you that you
can." He was getting closer, and I could feel my walls crumbling as he
drew me in with those eyes.   "I
swear, Shay, there is only you."

 
    His lips were on my throat somehow.
Every defense I usually had was faulty when it came to this man.

 
    "Ah, dammit Shay," he murmured,
sending little thrills down my spine as he moved his lips up to my ear.
"You've got me all mixed up. I'm not used to feeling so..." he
trailed off in a sigh against my hair.

 
    I knew what he meant. "Vulnerable?"

 
    He pressed a kiss to my temple.
"Yes. Vulnerable. Maybe that's it." He pulled back and rested his
forehead on mine, so that all I could see were his eyes.

 
    "I'm trying here," he said.
"Trying to do what you asked, be a gentleman," he swallowed hard,
"give you time. But things keep getting fucked up in the meantime."
He brushed his hand across my breast and I felt my nipple stiffen under his
touch. Without meaning to, I arched my back and a faint glimmer of a smile
twitched his lips. He ran his thumb back over the hardened pearl and his voice
grew husky. "The longer I wait...," he bent and brushed his lips
where his thumb had been, making me gasp, "...mmm...the more I'm afraid
I'm going to lose you." He pulled back and I fell forward a little. I
hadn't realized how hard I was pressing into him. His eyes blazed like
lightning in a storm cloud. "I'm not sure if I can risk being a gentleman
any longer."

 
    My skin was on fire where he had
touched me. My heart hammered so loudly that he had to be able to hear it. But
he stood there, stock still, and cast his eyes down, waiting.

 
    Waiting for me to tell him what I
wanted.

 
    My fingers tingled,