❦ ❦

Propping myself up on one elbow, I watched Jason sleep. With his hair falling over his forehead and the sexiest stubble shadowing his jaw, he looked entirely too gorgeous even sleeping. The sheet was up to his hips and my mouth went dry as my gaze roamed over the hard muscles of his chest. I wanted to touch him but didn't want to wake him up. We had been up all night, only falling into exhausted sleep at dawn and the last thing I wanted was to disturb him.

We hadn't spent much time together since that night at my mom's place in Chicago. I spent the last week in Bali working on the hotel project while Jason travelled to India and Monaco on business. Despite his busy schedule, he somehow found time to call me every night and when I arrived in LA the previous evening he was there to pick me up from the airport.

I hadn't expected him to be so devoted to me when I agreed to the relationship. Even though I knew we weren't going to be together forever, I couldn't help feeling special under all his attention. I had decided to take Hal's advice and enjoy whatever time Jason and I had together instead of worrying about my heart being broken.

The overwhelming need for coffee made me crawl out of bed. The bedside clock showed me that it was 7 in the morning. I padded into the master bath and took a quick shower. Our clothes were scattered on the silk rug by the huge bed and instead of wearing my own, I slipped into Jason's shirt and then pulled on my cotton boy shorts.

Jason's penthouse occupied the top three floors of a skyscraper in the heart of LA. Instead of taking the private interior elevator that connected the three floors, I took the central staircase to go to the kitchen.

It was my first time in his home and I couldn't help being awed by the luxury that surrounded me. The penthouse had floor to ceiling glass windows and glass balconies providing 360 degree views of the city. It also consisted a glass enclosed garden and an infinity pool with a water slide that I was dying to use. The top floor had the office area, gym, cinema and 4 bedrooms while the entire middle floor occupied the master bedroom. The kitchen, living room, library and the bar were on the lower floor.

I stifled a startled yelp when I walked into the spacious kitchen and found a middle-aged woman whipping up something in a bowl. She gave a smile when she saw me. "Good morning, Miss. Would you like some coffee?"

I hesitated, not wanting to trouble her. But I noticed that she had already brewed a fresh pot of coffee. "That would be lovely, thank you." I smiled politely at her.

She produced a black mug out of a Cherrywood cabinet and placed it on the granite countertop. As she poured coffee, she introduced herself as Annie, the housekeeper.

I felt awkward standing in the kitchen wearing nothing but Jason's shirt. But I figured Annie was probably used to seeing half naked women stumbling into the kitchen early in the morning, considering the amount of women Jason had dated.

I thanked her when she handed me the coffee mug and went out into the morning room. I was standing by the large French doors that opened out on to the terrace, sipping on my coffee, when I head movement from behind.

I turned around to see Jason walking towards me. He was barefoot, dressed only in a pair of black sweatpants which hung low on his lean hips, accentuating his sexy V-cut. He hadn't bothered to shave and with his hair wet from the shower, he looked downright mouthwatering, like a delicious treat.

My hormones, which always acted out of control around him, went erratic at the sight of him.

"Morning, baby." He flashed his sexy as sin dimples and my stomach fluttered from both his smile and the endearment.

"Morning." Placing the coffee mug on a table, I moved into him, wrapping my arms around his neck and inhaling the now familiar scent of the Saint Laurent body wash he used. He gave me a slow, toe curling kiss and moved his lips along my jaw.

"I like how you look in my shirt." He murmured nuzzling the side of my neck.

"Oh yeah?" I smiled, running my hands through his soft thick hair. "How do I look?"

"So damn sexy." His warm breath tickled in my ear. "And so deliciously fuckable." He dropped his hands to my butt, pulling me firmly against his arousal.

His words sent a thrill coursing through me and when his teeth closed over at the sensitive spot behind my ears, I gasped out in pleasure.

He hoisted me up so that I could wrap my legs around him. "What do you want first? Breakfast or..."

"You." I finished breathlessly, my body already wet and ready for him.

"Good." He nipped at my lips playfully before carrying me upstairs to his bedroom.

❦ ❦ ❦

"Don't you have to get ready for work?" I asked an hour later. Jason was lying with his head on my chest, his arms wrapped around me.

"I'm taking the day off."

I threaded my fingers through his thick hair, marveling at how soft it was. "You can just do that?"

I felt him smile. "Baby, I'm the CEO and owner. I can take time off whenever I want."

"Oh, right. How could I forget?" I rolled my eyes, tugging on his hair a little. "So what are you planning to do today?"

"I thought we could spend the day together."

"You're forgetting that I have work."

"And you're forgetting that I'm your boss."

My lips twitched. "Are you asking me to skip work?"

Lifting his head off my chest, he flashed me a smirk. "I'm not asking you. Consider it a direct order from your very persuasive boss."

"In that case, I can't say no, can I?" I knew how busy his schedule was and the simple fact that he cleared his day just to spend time with me meant more to me than he would ever know.

"So where do you want to go?"

"Do we have to go out? We can stay in. I don't mind."

"You know if we stay in, we'll end up spending the entire day in bed."

I laughed knowing he was right. "What's wrong with that?"

"Absolutely nothing." He rolled on to his back, pulling me into his side. "But I want to take you out on a date. We can go anywhere you want."

"Anywhere?"

"Yeah."

An idea struck my mind. "We can go to the flea market."

He stared at me in disbelief and when he talked, his tone held aversion. "Flea market? Why would you want to go to a place like that?"

My excitement vanished. "They have really cool stuff." I started defensively. "Like vintage artifacts and antiquities." Maybe it was because I was an interior designer but I loved going to flea markets and browsing through old stuff, looking for hidden treasures.

And for a moment, I had forgotten Jason was a billionaire who was used to the finest luxuries money could buy. Of course, he wouldn't want to set foot in a market. I felt stupid for even suggesting it.

He was silent for a few seconds but then shrugged. "Okay, if that's what you want, we can go."

Now it was my turn to look at him in disbelief. "We can?"

"Of course. I told you. Anywhere you want." His lips quirked up in a half smile. "And I just want to spend time with you so it doesn't matter where we go as long as I get to be with you."

I swallowed hard, my heart racing up at his words. He was being entirely too sweet to me, making me feel as if he really cared about me. As if I mattered to him. At least until he got bored of me. That bothered me but I pushed all those thoughts away. It was better to enjoy whatever little time I had with Jason instead of thinking of the day he would finally have enough of me and move on.

We were having breakfast on the terrace a while later when Jason asked me if I had a specific flea market in mind. "Well, there's one in Fairfax. It's a half an hour drive from here. Remember the antique slag glass lamp in my apartment?" When he nodded, I continued. "I got it from there."

"So you've already been there once."

"Yeah, about a year ago with Hal. I've been to most places around here." I said with a smile. "There's one in Catalina I've always wanted to go. I've heard they have the best vintage stuff."

"Then let's go there."

"To Catalina? You do realize we are talking about an island, right? We can't just drive there."

He smirked, obviously enjoying the look on my face. "Good thing I have a few jets then."

I stared at him. "You can't be seriously thinking of flying out to an island just to visit the flea market."

He grinned and instead of saying anything, picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Andrea." He said into the phone. "I need the jet ready in an hour. Yeah. To Santa Catalina."

When he ended the call, I was still gaping at him. I didn't know what to say. I just couldn't believe he arranged for us to go to Catalina just because I mentioned I wanted to go there.

"Don't look so shocked, baby." His lips tugged into a smile. "I told you, I'd take you anywhere you wanted to go. Besides, it's only a one hour flight."

I shook my head on a sigh. "What if I said I wanted to go to, let's say, Spain or something?"

He shrugged. "If you want, we can go there after you finish with the flea market."

I opened my mouth, then closed it, lost for words. Why did I keep forgetting I was dating a freaking billionaire? Everything was so easy for him, available with a snap of his fingers.

"No, I don't want to go to Spain." I said finally. Honestly, his luxurious lifestyle was too overwhelming.

"Another time then." He was oblivious to what I was thinking. "Now, c'mon, finish your breakfast. We are leaving in half an hour."

❦ ❦ ❦

❦ Jason ❦

"What do you think?" Kate held out a statue at me. It was a vintage brass candle holder. "It's nice, right?"

When I nodded, she added it to the basket of items she had already chosen. We had been at the flea market for less than an hour and her basket was already overflowing.

If anyone had ever said to me I'd one day be spending time in a fucking flea market, I would have never believed it. But there wasn't anything I wouldn't do for Kate so here we were.

Ben had accompanied us and he hovered nearby. I followed Kate around, carrying her basket and to be honest, I found myself enjoying watching her browse.

Whenever she found something she liked, she showed it to me. I couldn't quite understand the appeal of buying dirt cheap items but her excitement was adorable.

We finished the stall and went to pay. I pulled out my wallet and handed several bills to the seller. As I had expected, Kate intervened but I ignored her protests. She didn't look happy but knew she couldn't win.

"Look, you can't pay for my things." She said the moment we exited the stall.

"I can and I will."

She sighed in exasperation. "You're impossible."

"I know." I grinned slipping an arm around her waist and brushing my lips against her temple. "Which stall do you want to check next?"

We ended up going into an accessory stall which contained a lot of bohemian themed stuff.

"There's nothing in here that I don't want." Kate sighed looking around.

"No problem. I'll buy..."

She cut me off. "I swear if you tell me you're going to buy this whole damn stall, I'll leave."

I grinned. That was exactly what I had been about to say. Even Ben, who was within earshot, was trying not to smile. "Well, if you want everything then..."

"Jason." Her tone was full of warning.

Smirking, I bent my head down to kiss her again. "You are always hot but especially so when you're angry." I whispered against her lips. "If we were alone, I'd be bending you over and fucking you right now."

Her eyes widened, a flush rising on her cheeks. Chuckling, I straightened up and took her hand and pulled her towards a display of straw hats. "You need one of these." Selecting a wide brimmed hat, I placed it on her head. "Perfect. Very touristy."

She reached for a fedora hat. "If I'm wearing one, then you're too."

"That's the ugliest one here."

"I know." She grinned and then adjusted it over my head before taking a step back to look at me. Her grin faded and she made a disgusted sound. "Not fair. You look sexy in just anything."

"I know." I smirked mimicking her. She rolled her eyes, trying to fight off a smile.

It was almost dusk when Kate finally finished. We decided to have dinner on the island before heading back to LA.

As we sat at a small sea side restaurant, Kate pulled out a something wrapped in newspaper from her bag and handed it to me. "Here, I got you this."

Surprised, I unwrapped it to find an antique miniature car. "This is a 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom."

"Yeah. Do you like it?"

"I love it. Thank you." I gave her a quick kiss. "How did you buy this without me noticing?"

"I asked Ben to get it while you weren't looking." She grinned reaching out and tugging on the ugly hat I was still wearing. "Thank you for bringing me here. This has been one of the best days of my life."

Seeing how happy she was made my heart swell and I knew I would do anything, just anything, to keep her smiling like that.

We boarded the jet around ten in the evening. Kate looked exhausted and as soon as we were up in the air, I scooped her up in my arms and headed towards the bedroom.

"I can walk." She murmured sleepily.

"Why walk when I'm here to carry you?"

"In that case, I expect to be carried down the jet after we land." Her voice was teasing.

"Done." I flashed her an amused smile and settled her in the bed. Sitting beside her, I pulled her shoes off and lifted her legs on to my lap.

"What are you doing?" She was watching with a surprised look.

"Figured your feet must hurt after all that walking." I said as I started massaging her right foot.

"That feels so wonderful." She sighed in pleasure. "You're spoiling me, you know."

"That's the plan, baby."

She laughed. "You're setting up the bar pretty high for anyone I date after you."

I froze. "What do you mean after me?"

She suddenly looked uneasy as if she didn't want to answer the question. "You know what I mean." She said finally. "We both know our relationship is not going to last forever."

If only she knew how much it hurt to hear her say that. "Why do you think that?"

"You don't do long term. It's who you are. You get bored easily."

"I'm never going to get bored of you."

"Don't say things you don't mean." She said after a few seconds of silence.

Frustrated anger flashed through me. The last thing I wanted to do was get into a fight after the wonderful day we had so I decided to keep my mouth shut. It hurt like hell to know that she didn't trust me at all. Not even a little bit.

I continued massaging her feet until she fell asleep, then I tucked the duvet around her. Dropping a kiss to her forehead, I straightened up and stepped outside the bedroom.

The stewardess brought a glass of scotch at my request and I took a sip of it trying to clear my head. I felt so very helpless, not knowing how to convince Kate that my feelings for her were real. If she couldn't believe it when I told her I liked her, then there was no way she would believe me if I confessed I was in love with her.

All I could do was express my feelings to her through my actions. Shower her with so much love she would have no doubt about how much she meant to me. She held my heart in her palms and I would make sure I didn't give her any reason to walk away from me. Because if she left, it would completely destroy me.