Mine for Now - The Billionaire's Obsession #2 by J. S. Scott Read Free Book Online Page A

trying to decide if she was overdressed. Or underdressed. The burgundy dress was beautiful, but the clingy silk material draped every curve, ending at mid-thigh and leaving a cons iderable amount of her legs on display. The nude silk stockings that ended in delicate lace at the tops of her thighs did little to warm her long legs and the drape across only one shoulder left the other one completely bare.
    She had flinched when she pulled the dress fro m the closet, shocked by the price tag still attached to the garment. Holy crap! Who wore a dress that cost as much as her previous grocery allowance for six months? Seeing the outrageous price had been enough to make her want to shove it back in the closet. The only reason she hadn’t was because she had nothing appropriate to wear.
    She slipped her feet into a pair of matching shoes, the stiletto heels high enough to ensure that she would be as tall as some of the male guests.
    Except Simon. No shoes would ever put her eye-to-eye with Simon.
    Nervous, she shoved her long hair over her shoulder. Leaving it loose might not have been the best plan, but she had no idea how to do fancy styles. Her long, dark hair was generally more of a nuisance than anything else, making her think about cutting it short more than once over the last several years.
    Staring back at herself in the mirror, her eyes looked enormous. She had added make-up, something she rarely bothered with because of the cost and time involved, the result not something that she was sure she liked. Was the red lipstick a little too much? Oh hell, she just didn’t know. It wasn’t like she attended parties or gatherings of this type. Actually, she hadn’t been to a party of any type for more years than she could remember; probably the last one had been when her parents were still alive. After that, her life had been a constant cycle of work and survival.
    She shoved her sagging shoulders back, trying to tell herself that she would not be intimidated. Simon had asked her to go, wanted her to be there, and she wouldn’t let him down. It would be so much easier to play chicken and tell Simon she wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t go, but she couldn’t do it. Simon was good to her, had literally saved her life.
    Taking one last look in the mirror, Kara scooped a small, black bag from the bed and headed for the kitchen. She shifted one hand to her belly, trying to quiet the swarm of butterflies that seemed to have invaded her stomach.
    Calm down, Kara. It ’ s just a birthday party. No big deal.
    Stopping at the entrance to the kitchen, she saw Simon dressed, ready and none too happy. He was standing near the cupboard, handsome as sin in brown dress pants and a gorgeous cream-colored fisherman’s sweater. Hair neatly groomed, his evening dark whiskers already showing, he looked good enough to eat.
    You already did that. Yesterday.
    Kara flushed, the room suddenly way too warm, as she remembered the day before. Her behavior had been so out of character. So brazen. But it been difficult to see Simon, in all his glory, looking slightly insecure and trapped. It had kicked in a protective instinct, a bold and audacious behavior that had surprised her. When had she become such a bold seductress? She was sexually repressed, totally not the type of woman to come on to a man like Simon. His look of uncertainty had spurred her on, made her determined to show him how incredibly sexy he looked, how tempting he really was. And he was tempting. Sure, he had some scars on his chest and abdomen, some small, some not so small, all white from age and standing out on his olive complexion. But Lord, it had been impossible to walk away, to not touch that ripped, muscular body. The scars did nothing to detract from his sex appeal. Simon was simply…splendid.
    “Oh good. You’re here. I was just-” Simon stopped in mid-sentence as he looked up at her.
    “I’m ready,” she told him, trying to sound confident as she stepped into the