“So, ummm... Do you want to try my place?”

I didn’t have any alternatives, so I said yes.

It was then that I noticed his car wasn’t there.

“Where’s your car?”

“I’m getting a few things done to it, so I have my driver today. He’ll be here shortly.”

Less than ten seconds later, a limo pulled up in front of the house. To my surprise, it had a similar look to the DeLorean, but only in terms of it being clearly more technologically advanced than other limousines.

“Wow, fancy,” I whispered.

“Wait until you see the inside.”

His driver got out and quickly pushed a button to open the door.

“Please watch your head, miss,” he said, guiding me inside after Magnus slid in.

Magnus held his hand out to me and I took it. He helped guide me into the limo and I settled next to him.

“For the record, I had nothing to do with the invasion of children, otherwise known as a kids’ party.”

“Oh, I know. That was all Lacey and Jude. They looked too smug and collected amidst the chaos.”

“You noticed too!”

“Yeah, it was very clear. Even they want you to go out with me.”

“They’re just married people that want to see everyone else paired up too.”

“Or they just want you to live a little and spend some time with a very good-looking, smart, successful bachelor.”

“You’re probably right. Now, where would I find one?” I found myself joking.

He laughed and we chatted about not much of anything until we approached his home. The guards Maya had mentioned smiled and waved us in as we pulled into the driveway. They didn’t seem so mean to me.

My attention turned to Magnus’s home. It was a modern masterpiece. Mostly glass and metal. It looked like the type of home a rich superhero would have. I shared my thought with Magnus and he laughed.

“Rich? Yes. Superhero? Definitely not. I can’t even swim.”

“Really? You live in South Florida. How did that happen?”

“My mom was petrified of water. Her fear sort of rubbed off on me.”

“Did she have a reason to be afraid? Did someone she know almost drown?”

He nodded and his voice was somber as he said, “She almost died when she was a kid. She was visiting family at their lake house and one of the adults lost track of her. She wandered too close to the pier and ended up falling in.”

“That’s terrible. That must have been so traumatizing for her.”

“I hear she swims nearly every day now. But I still haven’t learned yet.”

“You should definitely learn to swim. What if one of the challenges involves swimming?”

“Then we’ll just volunteer you instead of me.”

I raised an eyebrow and he laughed. “Fine. Maybe I’ll learn. If I have a great teacher. Are you offering to be my teacher?”

His words were innocent but his tone was flirtatious.

“Maybe. If you’re lucky...” I surprised myself by saying.

“God, I hope I’m lucky.”

The limo finally stopped in front of his circular driveway and Magnus helped me out. I enjoyed flirting with Magnus. More than just flirting, I enjoyed being around him. There was something about him that made me feel comfortable. He was great company, funny, personable, and had a knack for making you feel like everything you said actually mattered. So even though he and I were from different worlds, it didn’t seem to matter to him. He just saw me as Lesli and that was enough for him. And that’s what appealed to me so much. For someone who was a billionaire, he didn’t flaunt it. He was humble. And I liked that quality most about him. He didn’t treat me like a freak because I was smart. He didn’t treat me like a cheap date because I wasn’t rich. He treated me like an equal.

“Come on. Give me the grand tour of your house.”

Thirty minutes later, he’d shown me the entire house and it was breathtaking. It had only five bedrooms and each bedroom had its own bathroom. Each room had a gorgeous view of the outside given the wall to ceiling windows. The house also had an indoor pool, a library, a fitness center that rivaled any fancy gym I’d ever seen and a kitchen that was restaurant quality. And to my surprise, he had a basketball hoop in the back.

“For when I have a hard day at work and want to pretend to be LeBron James or Michael Jordan,” he explained, making me laugh.

“Well, I’m officially speechless. I’ve visited Oliver’s house, and it’s stunning, but this is by far the coolest house I’ve ever been in.”

“Thanks. It was my father’s. He gave it to me and bought another one not too far from here.”

“I can’t imagine my mom leaving me anything like this. Moms of regular people leave them things like Tupperware or debt.”

He laughed. “Trust me, rich people leave their kids debt too. It’s just not talked about.”

“I have a funny feeling you won’t have that problem.”

He shook his head. “Not quite. Want a drink?” he asked, turning away from me and leading me into the kitchen.

“I’m surprised you don’t have a butler.”

“No butler. I have a housekeeping staff and a grounds staff, but I don’t really have a need for a butler. I don’t have enough visitors to warrant one.”

“No wild parties with rich and famous friends?”

“I’m a loner, believe it or not. And rich and famous people make me nervous and uncomfortable.”

“What? Why?” I was surprised by this revelation. I sat down on a bar stool next to his giant concrete kitchen island and placed my chin in my hands. “This is going to be interesting, I’m sure.”

He gave me a boyish smile as he reached for something to drink out of his fridge. “What would you like to drink? I don’t drink alcohol so I’m afraid your choices are juice, a smoothie, or a flavored water.”

I expressed an interest in one of the flavored waters and he handed it to me.

“Let me get this right… You don’t drink, eat meat, smoke?”

He shook his head and joined me at the island, sitting on a stool next to me.

“You have to have one vice.”

“I try to keep my vices to a minimum,” he said before taking a drink.

“Tell me you eat sugar at least.”

He grimaced. “I actually hate overtly sweet things. Foods, desserts—”

“Women?” I chided.

He was amused and said, “If I was into sweet women, I wouldn’t be pursuing you.”

My skin flushed at his words. So he was pursuing me still. Interesting. “I can be sweet when I want to be.”

He looked doubtful. “I’ve yet to see you display that facet of your personality, so I won’t argue the point.”

“Good idea.”

“I aim to please, your highness.”

I took another drink enjoying the banter between the two of us. It felt almost cozy. “So you were going to tell me about your poor days.”

My comment caught him off guard and he started to laugh, squirting the beverage from his mouth. He rose to get a rag to clean it up.

“Look what you made me do.” He gestured to his shirt which had once been pristine white was now decorated with splashes of cranberry juice.

“Sorry,” I said not the least bit sorry.

He found a rag and began wiping at the stains that were now forming. “You’re funny when you want to be. That ‘poor days’ comment was a real winner.”

I smiled and watched him dab at the stains.

“There’s really no use in trying to remove them with your shirt on.”

“Is that your roundabout way of trying to get me to undress for you?”

“What? No!”

“Hmm…” was all he said as he placed the rag down and deftly removed his shirt. I told myself not to stare. I really tried not to stare. It was useless. Just as I expected, Magnus was chiseled.

I pretended to be unimpressed and said, “What exercise program are you doing that gives you abs like that?”

“So you like what you see?” he said sitting back on the barstool and tossing his shirt haphazardly up against the island. He leaned an elbow on the island and studied me while I studied him.

“Your turn.”

“My turn to what?”

“Take your shirt off.”

I blushed. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t come over here to undress.”

His voice was deeper as he said, “That’s too bad.”

And then he did something I hadn’t expected. He hooked his foot around the base of my barstool and in one smooth motion, slid me over to where he was.

I was startled. “What are you doing?”

“You were too far away,” he said reaching out and tracing a hand down the side of my face. I was so close that if I wanted to, all I had to do was stretch out a hand to touch him too.

“Come here,” he said softly. He opened his legs wide and scooted my barstool right in between them. My knees pressed against his inner thighs and I tried to not look down. I tried to pretend I didn’t notice the sudden hard silhouette in his pants when what I really wanted to do was reach forward and brush my hand over it.

He touched my face, bringing it closer and then softly kissed my lips. I closed my eyes, surprised by his gentleness. He continued to hold my face as he deepened the kiss this time. This second kiss wasn’t chaste like the first. The second one was hot, deep, and the feel of his tongue against mine was more than I could take. I moaned and that was all the encouragement he needed as he lifted me up from my barstool and placed me on his lap. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back, wanting the moment to continue forever. Kissing Magnus was all I had imagined it would be but about a billion times better.

Finally, he slowly broke the kiss and I protested a little.

“That was nice,” I said, righting myself and pulling away. “But for the remainder of this evening, you should keep your hands to yourself.”

“Is that an order or a request?” He was amused as he made his comment, but his amused expression quickly gave way to desire as he caught sight of my hard nipples pressed against my shirt.

I felt a little self-conscious and positioned myself so that my chest wasn’t directly facing him.

“Eyes up here,” I said softly. It made me feel powerful that I could turn him on. Lesli Cabot was being drooled over by a billionaire, I could hardly believe it.

“Can you blame me?” he said with a carefree shrug.

I knew if I let this flirtation between us continue that I would end up in his bed in ten seconds flat, so I tried to get us back on topic. It wasn’t easy. I was still turned on and could feel that I was growing wet. And I gave a discrete look toward his crotch. He apparently was having the same problem that I was.

“So where were we?” I asked.

“Are we going to pretend that nothing happened?”

I nodded. “I think. Yeah. I just don’t want to complicate things.”

He looked ready to argue and then said, “I wish I could convince you otherwise, but we can leave that for another day.”

“Thanks,” I said shyly. I’d expected him to push the subject or argue with me, but he hadn’t. That sucked, because his understanding tone and gentlemanly behavior was such a turn on. And the last thing I needed right then was to be turned on any more than I already was.

“So back to your question…”

“What question?” I asked blankly, still waiting for my body to return back to normal. I was suddenly insanely aware of Magnus.

“About my poor days as you called them.”

“Oh yeah, I’m curious.”

He nodded. “I wasn’t always insanely rich. I grew up wealthy, but my parents were just upper class. They definitely weren’t billionaires. When I was around nineteen, we were struggling to get by, and the other rich kids definitely let me know it.”

“I’m sorry. What happened?” I was very curious now.

He shook his head. “That’s for another night.”

“Oh, are you baiting me now?”

He smiled slightly. “Maybe. If I tell you everything, then I’ll lose the mystery factor and women love the mystery factor.”

“Not me. I like to know exactly what I’m getting into.”

“That’s boring. Life should be about surprises.”

“I prefer stability to surprises.”

“One doesn’t negate the other.”

“You’re probably right, but it does for me.”

He didn’t respond, he just took another drink out of the fridge, handed one to me and said, “Care to join me in the living room?”

“I’m surprised you don’t have a theatre room. All the entertainers and rich people on TV have them.”

“Maybe that’s why I’m not on TV,” He laughed as he led me to the living room, his hand lingering on the small of my back for a few blissful seconds. The heat from his hand stirred something in me and I was glad when he removed it seconds later. I shook my head and thought for what felt like the hundredth time.

“I don’t watch movies or television much, so I never saw the need for a whole room dedicated to something I don’t even do.”

“Not even sports?”

“Not a fan of sports.”

I plopped down on the couch. “So what are you a fan of?”

And then I noticed it. I’m not sure how it escaped my attention before. “Is that a theater style popcorn machine?”

He nodded.

“You don’t watch movies, but you have an old fashion popcorn machine.”

“I guess popcorn is my vice and I love theatre popcorn, nothing else comes close to it. So I bought this one at an auction. The entire theatre was being sold and the agent thought I wanted to buy the building. I was like nope, just the popcorn machine.”

“You’re eccentric… like someone else I know,” I said, thinking of Oliver.

“Not really. I’m just a sucker for a good bowl of popcorn.” He spent the next fifteen minutes showing me how to work it and before I knew it there was a big bowl of deliciousness in my hands. He excused himself to go find a shirt and I plopped down on the couch while I waited for him.

He came back a few minutes later a little less naked. I missed looking at his chest already. He sat down next to me. His knee pressed against mine as we snacked loudly.

“This is really great popcorn,” I commented in between bites. I figured if my mouth and hands had something to do, I would be less inclined to get in trouble by touching him.

He was sitting so close, if I just leaned a little to the left I would find myself in his lap again. I briefly thought about moving to sit in the loveseat across from us but thought better of it. I didn’t want it to be too obvious that his presence unnerved me.

He reached for popcorn too and his hand brushed mine. I pretended to not notice how our brief touch radiated heat up my entire arm.

He sat back suddenly, reached for the remote and turned on the Brain Pain. I watched half-heartedly as one commercial after another played.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“What question was that?”

“What are you into if not sports or movies?”

“Intelligent women with beautiful legs.”

I blushed and shifted a little. I nervously pushed a few hairs out of my face. “You’re trying to distract me.”

He gave me a long look and reached out to touch my cheek. He stroked it gently and I sighed as I leaned forward, hoping to get closer. “Is it working?”

“Is what working?” I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I could barely breathe.

“That’s the only answer I need—”

He moved in then. I was sure to kiss me when suddenly the TV volume shot up to a deafening roar.

We sprung apart, me covering my ears and him cursing as he reached for the remote control which had somehow become wedged between us. My knee had pressed against the remote, sending the volume to deafening decibels.

Ooops. But honestly, if not for that issue I probably would have my mouth on him right now.

“So what type of men do you like, Lesli?” he said as he turned the television’s volume down.

That question totally caught me off guard. I looked at him strangely. “What type of question is that?”

“I’m just curious. If you won’t go out with me, then tell me who you’d normally go out with.”

So we were back to that topic. I wanted to roll my eyes, but thought better of it.

“I don’t really have a type and it’s not that it matters anyway.”

“It matters to me.” We were now not even pretending to be interested in watching Brain Pain reruns.

“Well, if you’re not my type there’s really no reason to discuss it. It’s not like you can become my type overnight.” I hoped my logic wasn’t as screwy as it sounded.

“Come on. Humor me.”

I didn’t know what to make of this conversation and I wasn’t sure where it was going. “I guess I want what most other women want. Someone nice with a sense of humor. Reliable. Punctual...”

“Punctual. That’s hilarious.”

“You’re right. That was stupid, but you put me on the spot, so that’s what you get for being intrusive.”

“Intrusive, me? Never.”

I smiled. “How about you? What’s your type?”

“Smart, authentic, compassionate. You know, pretty much everything you are.”

“Stop being so nice. You’re going to make me blush.” I quickly tried to change the subject. I needed a safe topic. A topic that was the complete opposite of sexy. And suddenly I had it.

“Tell me more about your parents.”

I expected him to stubbornly resist my change of subject but, fortunately, he smiled and went with it. “Well, my mom is a hippie and, as you know, my dad is a lawyer.”

“How did that happen? How did they meet?”

“I’m not sure how they met. And Mom wasn’t always a hippie. In fact, she was quite the socialite before she found her life calling and did a complete one-eighty.”

“Life calling?”

“She lost her sister to leukemia and, after she died, Mom threw herself into adding color to her life... at least that’s what she called it.”

“What did she do?”

“She dropped the socialite lifestyle, started seeing a life coach. The life coach took her to a foreign country where Mom decided to renounce all worldly goods. She gave away most of her fortune and moved into a commune in Alabama or Mississippi. I can’t remember which one.”

“That’s, ummm, interesting...” I didn’t know what else to say.

He laughed. “I know it’s weird. You can say so.” He was turned toward me and there was a distinct twinkle in his eyes. He was clearly amused by my reaction.

“I’m not implying her actions are weird. Everyone has to choose how to live their life, right?”

“Right.”

“And she chose to live it with more meaning. I respect that. Change doesn’t come easy for me, yet she embraced change and let me guess, she’s a lot happier now.”

He nodded. “She is, but being a socialite was all she knew. Giving up her worldly possessions and everything that came along with it really shook up our family.”

I frowned. “I’m sorry. I never thought of that.”

He shrugged it off as if having his life turned upside down hadn’t been a big deal. His eyes told me otherwise though as he thought back on that time. “My parents divorced because of it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

He looked away. “Dad wasn’t interested in the person my mom had become. It caused a lot of resentment between them.”

“How old were you when they divorced?”

“Seventeen... just about to head off to college.”

“It must have been hard having your parents split up.”

“My dad was so bitter. He completely shut me out. The divorce was nasty. And Mom was off just worrying about what made her happy. She didn’t care that she’d given away my entire college fund to some charlatan of a life coach. I had a resentful, bitter father on one side and a self-centered mother on the other.”

“I’m not sure which one sounds worse...”

“Oh, my dad was worse by far. My mom at least tried to get me to go with her. My father, on the other hand, made it perfectly clear that if I left with my mom he would pretty much disown me. So I spent, oh let’s see, the past ten years rebuilding my family’s fortune.”

“Trying to make it up to your father?”

“Yep. You guessed it.”

“So, are you happy doing it?”

“Happy?” He shrugged. “I don’t think about happiness much. I just work.”

“Sounds like a sad existence,”

“Ouch. Let’s talk about something else.” He surprised me then by reaching out and touching my face.

I sucked in a breath and held his eyes which were filled with heat.

“What do you want to talk about?”

He didn’t answer. He just leaned over and kissed me. I returned the kiss, moaning as his lips caressed mine. He was a great kisser and his lips were warm and soft. He took his time, moving his lips gently over my own.

I was hot and bothered, growing wet in mere seconds as his lips moved over mine. And then he was lifting me up, bringing me into his lap again as if he needed me closer. He continued kissing me as he let his hand slide under my top. I gasped and pulled away. He instantly pulled his hand back.

“Do you want me to stop?”

I swallowed thickly and tried to speak, but couldn’t. I just shook my head and pulled his lips back to my own, sighing against the feel of his hand as it made its way yet again to just below my ribcage.

And as he abandoned my lips and started kissing my neck, he freed one of my breasts from my bra and began to play with my nipple until it was hard and pressing against his hand, begging for attention.

He shoved my top up then and placed gentle kisses across my collarbone, making a path with his lips to my breast. He teased my nipple between his fingers before pulling it into his mouth.

His mouth was warm and wet and I moaned as he sucked my nipple, alternating tempo and pressure.

I gasped his name and he took that moment to shove my bra down and release my other breast. He fondled one with his hand while sucking on the nipple of the other.

The sensation was exquisite, and I shuffled a little on his lap, trying to press my sex against his leg. I wanted him badly, more than I’d ever wanted any guy. Something about Magnus made me hot all over. And for that reason, I knew my attraction to him was dangerous. Magnus’s kisses, his touch, the feel of his fingers caressing my nipples, the feel of his tongue on my breast, was addictive. I knew I would want more, need more.

He ran his hand up between my thighs, coming close to my sex but not touching it. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked again, bringing my arms up so I could wrap them around his neck.

He looked down into my eyes and I returned his look. I couldn’t speak. I could barely breathe; my longing for him was that strong. I only nodded and pulled him close to me.

His lips met mine again and I opened my mouth just a little as his lips and tongue teased my own. He quickly rid me of my shorts and shoved my panties down before lowering me to the couch. He stood up then and I watched in anticipation as he freed himself of his shirt and then unbuttoned and pushed down his jeans. I reached out and grabbed his impressive cock, rubbing the tip and playing with the drop of moisture I found there. He tossed his head back and groaned. I continued to stroke him boldly and then he finally stilled my hand.

He climbed on top of me, balancing his weight on the narrow couch, tucking me under him before kissing me again. I tried to deepen the kiss, and as I did he used his thighs to open mine wider so he could gently push into me.

My lips stilled and I quickly took in a deep breath as he pushed himself into my wetness inch by glorious inch.

I moaned and arched my hips as he went deeper into me. I thought it would hurt or that he would be met with resistance, but I was so wet, he slid into me easily, pausing to kiss one cheek and then the other as he fully sheathed himself.

And then once he was buried inside of me, he started to move. He raised himself on his elbows and began to move his member in and out of me.

I moaned again and wrapped my legs around his waist. My hips shot up to meet every single one of his thrusts and my femininity greedily pulled at his shaft. My inner muscles tightened around him, keeping him snug and close, and he groaned my name as he tried to pull out, only to be stopped by my quaking sex around his own.

“Magnus....”

“Am I hurting you?”

I shook my head and ran my hands across his shoulders, enjoying the feel of his body crushed against mine as he continued moving in and out of me.

I bit into his shoulder, trying to hold back from the orgasm building inside of me. It started as a dull ache radiating from my sex, moving upward through my entire body. I tossed back my head and screamed as he thrust into me again, pushing and pumping into me over and over. He pulled away from me and pulled my thighs further apart. He took my butt in his large hands and pulled me forward, thrusting into me mercilessly. Gone was the gentleness of earlier and in its place was an almost animalistic lust. And I didn’t care, I couldn’t get enough of him. I wanted more. I wanted it harder, faster, deeper. And so that’s what I asked for, and he complied.

And then he began to come, shouting my name as he pushed into me one last time before spilling his seed inside of me.

He kissed me again gently and wrapped me in his arms. It felt comforting and right. And just like that, I fell asleep in a deep, satisfied, post-coital slumber.

What felt like minutes later my eyes popped open and I stared in pitch black darkness. I peered into the dark and could see a light from afar and I could hear water running.

I was drowsy, but was immediately fully awake as the dull ache between my legs confirmed what I’d hoped was just a dream. Nope. That had been real life. I wasn’t dreaming. I’d had sex with a virtual stranger and now I was lying in his bed? I looked around. How had I even gotten there? Had he carried me? I looked down and realized I was still panty-less and braless. God, how had I ended up like that? What had I been thinking? I was a wanton, sex-starved geek who hadn’t used her brain at all. And I was consumed by embarrassment.

I reached for my purse in the darkness and found it on the nightstand. I didn’t bother looking for my panties. I fixed my shirt as best as I could, dug around for my shorts, slid them on and made a run for it. I could still hear the shower going so I figured I had at least five minutes before he would notice I was gone.

I reached for my cell phone and pressed the app for a rideshare and slid out of his door. I locked the bottom lock behind me, sprinted across the driveway and to the estate entrance where a sleepy guard opened the gate so that I could exit. I paced while rubbing my arms. There was a breeze in the air that night as I waited for the rideshare that popped up in mere minutes.

I climbed into the car and sighed. I didn’t know why my first thought was to escape, but it had been. I didn’t feel like analyzing my behavior. I didn’t want to think about what had happened at Magnus’s home. I was determined to pretend nothing had happened.

The driver broke me out of my musing by saying, “Um... Miss... your top.”

“Huh?” I said.

He had a deep Southern accent and I was having difficulty understanding him.

“Your… umm... top...” He sounded nervous and uncomfortable.

I looked down and gasped. My entire right breast had been hanging out, exposed to the wind and my driver.

I gulped and quickly covered myself. I cleared my throat and said with as much dignity as I could muster. “Sorry.”

He laughed. “Hot night?”

I rolled my eyes and grumbled, “No comment.”

He laughed again and all I could think of was what was I supposed to do now? I had refused to date Magnus, yet I had jumped into bed with him at the first opportunity. What must he think of me? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I didn’t know what tomorrow held, but I knew I was a huge chicken and would avoid finding out.