Taking Control (Babysitting a Billionaire #3)

Looked like the sex was going to have to wait. It was going to be a long hard night.

The dinner was arranged by an organization McCabe Industries donated a lot of money to, a high-profile charity that he actually believed in. But he hated these events. He cast a sideways glance at Jess. At least he had no worry about being bored with Jess in tow. He could just imagine her without the dress, those long legs wrapped around him…

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Declan.”

He grinned. “Just getting into the part. You are supposed to be my girlfriend after all.”

The dinner was as bad as expected. Over the last few years, he’d felt increasingly alienated at these affairs. Like he was somehow in the wrong body and wanted to tear at his skin, get beneath it, find someone he could feel comfortable with, not continually irritated, rubbed up the wrong way, or even worse, bored out of his mind. But with Jess at his side, he could take it.

She stuck close beside him during the predinner mingling, playing the part of his girlfriend with a smooth ease. Her hand rested on his arm or his shoulder, and she didn’t move away when he wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her close. Each touch stoked the heat inside him, but he welcomed the slow buildup because he was going to have her tonight. In every way he could think of. And then a few more.

At the dinner, he was seated opposite her. He hardly noticed the food, and as the speeches started, he sat back, kept his attention on Jess, and allowed his mind to wander.

He’d done everything his family had required of him; the company was now eminently respectable and worth about ten times more than when he’d taken control at twenty-five.

But he didn’t give a crap. Some sort of premature midlife crisis? His dad obviously thought all he needed was the love of a good woman. Or even a bad one. His dad was crazy. Declan’s gaze drifted across the table to where Jess was seated. She was leaning in close to the man on her right, smiling at something he said, and a flash of rage stabbed him in the gut.

Across the table she must have sensed his focus because she glanced up and met his stare. For long minutes he held her gaze. She licked her lips with a pointed pink tongue, leaving her full mouth glistening, moist scarlet, and heat pooled in his belly.

Without giving himself time to think, he pushed back his chair and got to his feet, ignoring the looks his neighbors cast his way.

He strode around the table to where she sat, her gaze never leaving him. Leaning down close, he whispered in her ear. “Time for us to show each other just how nice we can be.”

She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t move. “Aren’t you supposed to be giving a speech later?”

“I don’t care. Come on. I’m bored. Let’s go have some fun.” He rested his hands on her shoulders and blew gently in her ear, felt a shiver run through her. “We’re making a scene here.”

“You’re making a scene,” she murmured. “Most unlike you.”

“And it’s only going to get worse. My dick is so hard I thought it was going to spontaneously combust, probably taking the table with it.

Amusement flashed in her eyes, and then she swiped her tongue across her lower lip again and he groaned. But she gave a small nod and finally she pushed herself to her feet.

Before she could change her mind, he took her arm and hustled her toward the door. “This is good, though,” he said. “Obviously I can’t keep my hands off you so that helps the cover story.”

He needed to kiss her, suck her plump lower lip into his mouth, push his tongue inside her. Unfortunately as they exited the room, they picked up his babysitters and he groaned in frustration.

The car was waiting out in front. Jess had a quiet word with the guards; one peeled away and the other opened the back door for them. Declan waited for Jess to get in, then climbed in beside her. The guard got in beside the driver, and they pulled away.

Declan leaned forward and pushed the button that brought the tinted glass divider up between the front and the rear seats, and then he sat back and hauled Jess into his arms.

One hand slid behind her neck to drag her close and pull her head down for his kiss. He didn’t hold back, his lips hard against hers, parting them, pushing inside her hot, wet mouth. Deep, drugging kisses, that were nowhere near enough.

Finally he ran out of oxygen, released her, and sat back, his breath coming hard and fast. How long did they have? He suspected not long enough to get her out of that dress and onto his cock.

While he was considering options, she pulled away slightly. He looked at her, ready to drag her back into his arms, but something in her eyes stopped him.

“I still owe you,” she said and the look in her eyes made the last of the blood drain to his pulsing erection.