An Escort for Christmas: A Billionaire Novella by A. Zavarelli Read Free Book Online Page B

tightening painfully.
    I kissed my way up towards his jaw, inhaling his cologne as I went. He smelled so good. Like cedar and limes. I wanted to rub against him like a cat, bathing myself in that scent.
    I didn’t get to finish my attempt at seduction, because a moment later, his lips were on mine, greedy and demanding. I gasped against him, and he invaded my parted lips with his tongue. I was vaguely aware we were in a room full of people, and I wondered if he’d intended for it to go this far. But I didn’t care. All I cared about was the feeling he ignited inside of me. Like he’d lit a match and set fire to my insides.
    I clenched my thighs together and smashed my breasts against his chest just to try to get some relief.
    Someone made a noise of disapproval behind us, and a low growl erupted from his throat before he pulled away. His eyes were wild, filled with surprise and unadulterated lust as he stared down at me. I could feel that lust reflected in my own eyes, and suddenly I wished we were upstairs. Alone.
    And then the shutters came down. His face became cold and expressionless as he nodded towards Robert.
    “I’m going to get a drink,” he told me. “Why don’t you go mingle.”
    I felt like I’d been slapped as he turned away from me and left me standing there like that. And to make matters worse, Katherine trailed after him like an eager puppy. But he didn’t tell her to go mingle.
    Lily sidled up to me and handed me a much needed drink. I swallowed it in three gulps.
    “You don’t have anything to worry about,” she said softly. “He wouldn’t touch that again with a ten-foot pole.”
    There was something cryptic about her words that told me she was a lot more clued in than what she let onto. But I simply nodded. It didn’t matter because I knew the truth now. Jameson was using me to make Katherine jealous.
    It was why he’d called me vixen while I was standing right in front of her. And the only reason he would want to make her jealous was if he still cared. I wasn’t a relationship expert, but even I knew the basics of human emotions.
    “This party is a drag,” Lleyton said as he joined us. “There aren’t even any single ladies here.”
    “Well, I could think of one,” Lily replied with a teasing smile.
    Lleyton’s gaze narrowed on his sister. “Not even remotely funny.”
    Another inside joke I wasn’t privy to, I kept quiet.
    “How nice of my brother to leave you to fend for yourself,” he remarked.
    I glanced across the room to see Katherine with her hand on his chest, way too close to be considered appropriate. “Yeah, well I guess he’s busy.”
    Lleyton followed my gaze and frowned, shaking his head. “Do you want to dance?”
    I regarded his outstretched hand, remembering Jameson’s words clearly. This would probably be considered not staying the hell away from his brother. But he was too busy flirting with his ex-girlfriend to notice, so what the heck.
    I took his hand and let him lead me onto the dance floor. Lily called after us with a worried gleam in her eye that Lleyton waved off.
    “What is going on?” I asked as he swayed back and forth. He was a good dancer, unsurprisingly.
    “What do you mean?” he frowned.
    “I mean it feels like there’s a giant elephant in the room, and I’m the only one who doesn’t know what it is.”
    Lleyton’s expression turned sad before he nodded and spoke. “You aren’t the only one,” he muttered. “Most of my family doesn’t know. Except Lily. Because Jameson is too much of a good guy to say anything about it.”
    “About what?” I asked.
    Lleyton sighed. “Three years ago, Jameson and Katherine were dating. They’d been together since high school, and it was all but an arranged marriage between our parents. If they’d had it their way, the ink would have been dried on the marriage certificate the moment they turned eighteen.”
    I frowned at this new development, not realizing exactly how serious it had been