Page 9 of Loving a Billionaire

She’d treated Kurt badly. Of course, they all had their bad days, and she was always there to help lift Kurt’s spirits, just as he’d been there to lift hers. But not today. Nothing could cheer her up. Maybe if she could go back in time to right after getting the call from Sergeant Feakes, she’d certainly do things differently. First off, she’d go home to change instead of being afraid that the sergeant might reprimand her for wasting her time as he’d told her before. Then, she wouldn’t have acted unprofessionally.

This wasn’t the first time she’d pretended to be someone else in order to obtain the answers she sought, and it wouldn’t be the last time, but it was the only time she’d forgotten that she was a police detective. She’d somehow forgotten that Austin Reeder was a suspect.

For some reason, she saw him as a handsome, charming man who was actually interested in dating her. That, of course, led her into massaging his neck, and having him kiss her hand. The sultry way he’d looked at her when she fell on his lap also melted her completely, and heaven help her, but she’d wanted to know what it felt like to be kissed by someone so handsome.

Tears streamed from her eyes as she drove toward home. How could she hold her head up now? And how was she supposed to tell Kurt what she’d done?

She was such an idiot... an idiot who’d pretended to be a girl for hire, which was what he’d thought she was. Could she sink any lower than that?

FIVE

Austin wiped the steamedmirror in the bathroom. He’d taken a nice hot and relaxing shower, but what he should have done was taken a very cold shower. Perhaps that would make him more alert this morning.

Once the mirror cleared and he could see his reflection, he frowned. As tired as he’d been, he slept restlessly, and it was all Talia’s fault. Or perhaps, it was Ariki’s fault. His friend had set Austin up when he had specifically asked Ariki not to. Because of that, and the way the date had ended, Austin hadn’t been able to sleep.

Could Talia have been Ariki’s birthday joke? Austin wouldn’t have put it past his friend. But one way or another, he needed to know now. He also needed to find Talia and apologize.

As Austin dressed, his mind replayed everything that had happened yesterday with her, and one question stood out more than the others. If she hadn’t been from Ariki, then why had she come to see him? And why was the door opened as she had mentioned? He’d locked the door before going in to take a shower, hadn’t he? But he’d been so tired, it was likely he’d forgotten.

With a deep sigh, he groaned. He needed to talk to Ariki, today if possible. Lately, the women Ariki found for Austin had been all right, but there was nothing spectacular about them. He wasn’t interested in a serious relationship. The type of women he dated were mainly one-night stands. But his friend had mentioned playing a joke on him...

Austin fisted his hands. Was Talia the joke? Was she sent here to get him interested enough to want to see her again, and again, and again? Curse Ariki if that was his plan.

Without wanting them to, old feelings resurfaced. Emotions he had buried years ago were peaking over the horizon, making him remember what it had felt like to have his heart trampled on. Gnashing his teeth, he thought back on his painful past. Hadn’t he learned not to become enthralled with a woman the way he was with wanting to find Talia so badly? Women were not worth getting emotional over. Not only did his fiancée teach him this painful lesson several years ago, but his very own mother had proven to him that women could never be trusted.

Austin’s brain must have been running on empty yesterday due to exhaustion. That’s the only reason he’d acted in such a way with Talia. But then she had made him feel things he’d never felt with the other women Ariki had set him up with. Talia had presented herself as someone who was shy and naive, and he’d suddenly wanted to be her protector.

He wrapped the tie around his neck and proceeded to loop it together as he stared in the full-length mirror in his room. Once again, images of Talia haunted him. She’d kissed him so passionately, how could he forget such an earth-shattering moment? Her long, black hair glided like silk against his fingers, and her amazing rusty brown eyes had darkened mere seconds before they’d kissed.

She’d certainly accomplished making him feel so much desire for her in such a short amount of time. He’d had his share of women over the past fifteen years, but none of them had stayed on his mind as Talia had. The question was, why?

He’d thought she was different, but he couldn’t put his finger on what exactly made her that way. A smile tugged on his lips. Immediately after meeting her, he could tell she was more refined, mainly by her actions. He wanted another chance to be in her charming presence, and he definitely wanted to sample her sultry kisses again. No way could he let that beautiful woman hate him.

Pursuing Talia would be a challenge, but one he was willing to take on. He needed a little excitement in his life, and this would definitely be the key.

He grabbed his keys, his cell, and his wallet, and then headed downstairs. During the ride on the elevator, he realized he couldn’t wait to talk to Ariki. He must call him now.