After dinner, Cage shows me to my room.

That’s right—my room. Not his.

Not ours.

It overlooks the big Jacuzzi that’s situated near the pool, and it has a large, red, four-poster bed and dark, opulent furniture such as a chandelier draped with strings of pearls, an ottoman, and a mahogany vanity table. A bathroom is attached, and from what I can see of it, there’s a lot of marble and fanciness there, too.

It’s a bedroom fit for a princess, but there’s one thing it doesn’t have.

Him.

I thank Cage for his hospitality, but he must sense that I’m not entirely happy, because he gives me a long, questioning look.

“I’m just wondering…” I start. But my courage runs out.

“What, Karini?”

It’s the sound of my name spoken by that rich, luscious voice that gets me, and I try again.

“I’m just wondering why we won’t be sharing a room. You know, since you bought me and everything.”

“I already told you that I’m not going to take your virginity tonight.”

“Yes, but…”

“But I don’t ever share my bed for a night. Not with anyone.”

He bars his thick arms over his chest, and even though he’s still wearing those board shorts and a T-shirt, he dominates everything in that room, including me.

“Not with any woman?” I ask.

“I need my space.”

There. It’s as simple as that for him, but he still makes no sense to me. Why would he buy me for some intimacy if he’s going to spend the night away from me? Unless…

Oh.

I think of how he always closes himself off, just as he’s doing now. He’s not only a private person, there’s something else going on with Cage Bryant, something he doesn’t want anyone to see. Maybe that darkness I sense in him means he doesn’t want commitments, even if it’s for one night in the same room.

He assesses my response then relents, but only slightly, letting his arms fall away as if he’s no longer on an emotional red alert. Something flashes through his gaze, but his expression remains enigmatic.

“We’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning for the flight to New York,” he says.

I lift up my single bag. “It’s not like I’ve got a lot to pack. What time should I be ready?”

“A car is picking us up at six A.M.”

“Got it. I’m an early riser anyway.” And since he won’t be keeping me up late tonight, I should have no problem rising and shining.

Then again, I have the feeling he’s going to keep me up real late with all these bewildering thoughts about him running through my mind. There’ll be a lot of tossing and turning as I fixate on those three big questions: When will he have me? How? Where?

With an unreadable look, Cage leaves me standing in the middle of the room, and I can only hope I get some sleep.

I also hope I won’t get another text that sends me into a panic.

* * *

Early the next morning, there’s already a contract that’s been slipped under my door. It’s a simple agreement between Cage and me, and I note that he’s had access to the Highest Bidder files that verify I have no diseases and that I’ve agreed to “relations” with a partner who’s just as physically clean. I’m on birth control, as well, so it seems everything is set.

I sign and leave the papers for Cage to find and, over an hour later, a limo is driving us to the airport. I stifle a yawn. If Cage notices, he doesn’t let on. He’s too busy barking orders into the phone, clearly keeping the employees of his business on their toes even before regular work hours start.

I can’t stop looking at him, because he’s wearing a dark suit today, just like he does in all those paparazzi pictures. He’s polished, with his hair tamed, with his burgundy tie knotted, with his golden cuff links gleaming.

I enjoy looking at this version of Cage, too.

Really like. Enough to conjure naughty thoughts of his hands in my panties again, his fingers strumming my clit…

I make a small sound in my throat as my pussy buzzes in anticipation of the things to come. Of the me to come. But then, just as I start to get juiced for him, I remember the text I got last night, and my mind goes dark.

I barely notice Cage disconnecting from this latest call and tapping something into his phone. Probably another call.

“Long night?” he asks, the blue glow of the phone mixing with the dimness of the sunrise through the tinted windows.

For a moment, the vivid color of his eyes captures me, and my heart flips in my chest. Then I realize that he isn’t talking on his phone to someone else. He asked me a question, and I shake myself out of my haze.

“Oh. I slept great.”

“You’re yawning. Generally, that’s a sign of a restless night.”

There’s a hint of a wicked grin on his mouth. Is he teasing me? Well, at least as well as someone as cool as Cage Bryant can tease when he’s not trying to make me come during foreplay.

I think he’s even seeing if I’ll admit to wanting him so badly that I couldn’t sleep at all.

But I don’t want to admit that. “You know how it is with a bed that’s not your own. Sleeping in a foreign place feels…odd. No matter how beautiful it is or how soft the sheets are.”

“We’ll have to make sure you’re much more comfortable tonight.”

His suggestive tone sends a thrill through me, and he goes back to work, shutting me out.

What a surprise.

Soon we pass the general airport and drive to a smaller section where it seems that private aircrafts operate.

Oh my god—are we going on his own plane?

Of course we are and, once again, I try not to make a fool out of myself, showing just how inexperienced I am as the limo drops us off at the small terminal and we’re escorted to his private jet by a suited man on Cage’s security detail.

After we climb the steps and enter the aircraft, I look around at the lobby or sitting room or lounge or…whatever I’m standing in. All I know is that it’s plush, with creamy white leather seats, serene colors, smooth wood, and gold trim. There’s even a big TV and a dining table attached to the wall. I don’t know what being rich smells like, but there’s a scent in the air that makes me think of palaces.

“Wow,” I whisper.

He surveys his own jet as if he’s never seen it before. “This belongs to Bryant Industries.”

“In other words it’s your jet.”

His laugh rumbles. “Yes, it is.”

“I mean. Wow. When I flew out here for the Highest Bidder job, I’d hardly even ridden in coach before, much less first class. And this is…” I shake my head. “Heaven class.”

He’s still got that hint of a smile as he shows me to a massive armchair and I sink into it. It even feels like smooth, silky cream.

“Make yourself at home,” he says. “If you’re tired, there’s a bedroom in back. There’s also a conference room that you can relax in if you don’t want to hear me on business calls, and the galley is fully stocked if you want food.”

He’d left breakfast for me this morning—Eggs Benedict and delicious fresh berries—and although he hadn’t joined me, I’d enjoyed his cooking once again. “I’m not even close to hungry, but thank you.”

I see his own hunger start to burn in his gaze, and just as my heartbeat picks up, the crew appears. A chic flight attendant relieves me of my bag and hands me a Bellini. Cage waves off a drink as he takes a seat next to me. He still has his phone in hand, and I’m sure he’s ready to use it once we’re settled.

I sigh, place my drink into a nearby holder, then lean back into the cushiony seat.

“It’s good to see you relax,” he says.

“How can I not? Bellini? A private jet? A trip to New York?”

A gorgeous billionaire who’s indulging me?

He doesn’t say anything for a moment, and I turn my head to face him. He’s looking deeply into me with those heart-stopping eyes, and my pulse stutters.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I was referring to last evening at dinner. Something upset you.”

The text from Liam. Got the package as expected.

All I want to do is shut that out of my mind, and there’s only one way that’s going to happen—with Cage. He’s enough to make any woman forget anything, so why think about what’s waiting for me back in the real world?

I have heaven right here.

“Really, it was nothing.” I lean to the side, bracing my elbow on the armrest and my head against the cushion backrest.

My hair curls over my shoulder, and Cage reaches over to touch it. He rubs the strands between his fingers, just as he did yesterday when he tested the juices from my aroused pussy. The memory sends a strike of lust through me, and I bite my lip.

“It didn’t look like ‘nothing,’” he says in a low tone.

I really don’t want to think about this, and I reach up to wrap my fingers around his wrist. It’s the first time I’ve initiated anything with him, and his eyes flare with desire. Electricity seems to burn from my skin to his own.

My breathing quickens as his fingers trail from my hair to my neck. He strokes my tender skin there with his thumb, and when I swallow, his lips part. His gaze goes hazy as it runs from my neck to my mouth…

A female voice interrupts us. “Mr. Bryant? The captain is ready.”

Cage’s eyes focus again, and he removes his hand from me. When he glances at the flight attendant, he’s fully in charge of himself. Of everything around him.

I sit up in the seat and stare straight ahead, furiously blushing again. I’d almost forgotten that Cage and I aren’t alone.

“Thank you, Janelle,” he says. “Let everyone know that we won’t require service during the flight.”

“Yes, sir.”

His words hang in the air between us as we prepare for take off. Even as the jet flies into the brightening sky those words don’t go anywhere.

Why would he refuse service unless he’s going to…?

My god, is this the when, how, and where I’ve been fantasizing about ever since he gave me a taste of what he’s going to do to me?

I don’t know how long I sit there avoiding his gaze with the sound of the jet growling around us, the passage of blue sky rolling past the windows.

No crew. Just us.

And I’m pretty sure Cage hasn’t taken his eyes off me this entire time.

I throb under his intense scrutiny. I take a sip of the peach Bellini, just for something to do.

“You’re rather shy, aren’t you?” he murmurs.

I put my glass back in the holder. “Me?”

“You.”

He begins to loosen his tie with such casual assurance that my pussy starts creaming.

“I’m not…shy,” I whisper. “Not exactly.” The secrets I carry would blow that idea right out of the water.

“Whatever you are, Karini, I want you to bring it to me.” His command echoes through the lounge. “Come over here. Now.”

His urgency startles me, but in a good way, a way that gives my pulse a twist. I heat up as I see the same fire in his eyes that I saw yesterday.

It’s happening. He’s going to make me come again, and I already know the when and the where of that fact.

It’s just a matter of how…and how hard.