The Billionaire's Masquerade Page 0,54

her heat and hear those soft sighs of contentment after he’d pleasured her thoroughly. Damn, he wished this wasn’t so complicated.

When she started down the dock that would lead her to the smaller sailboat they’d taken out the last time, he grabbed her hand and led her in the opposite direction. “We’re taking another one today.”

She was instantly wary and pulled back, shaking her head when he turned back to face her. “No. I want to go on the one we went out on last time.”

He moved closer, his hand coming up to pull a wisp of hair away from her face. “I think you’ll like this one as well,” he said.

She instantly shook her head. There was a warning in his eyes, something that told her that this was another revelation that would only infuriate her again. She wasn’t angry right now. She was too filled with food, sugar and beer to be angry. There was a pleasant lethargy that she didn’t want to lose by finding out something important about Emerson Jackson. “No. I’m pretty sure that I won’t.”

“Why are you so sure?” he asked gently, trying to figure her out.

She pulled back slightly. “Because it’s probably some huge honkin’ sailboat that will look crazy expensive and won’t be nearly as fun to ride on as what we sailed the last time.”

He chuckled at her derogatory description. “The smaller sailboat is fine for the harbor, but we’re going out to the ocean. We need the larger ship for this.”

Her mouth dropped open when he said that. “Ship?” she whispered.

He shrugged. “Well, it’s a bit bigger,” he explained.

“How much bigger?” Her eyes moved to a place behind him and she instantly shook her head. “No. Please tell me that’s not your boat,” she begged.

He caught the tears that sprang to her eyes and he felt horrible that she didn’t like it. He loved sailing and was out on the water as often as possible. And he definitely wanted to share this experience with her. “It’s sea-worthy,” he promised her. “And I think you’ll like it once you give it a try. It’s much more comfortable than the small sailboat.”

The size wasn’t really the issue. It was the same as his ginormous penthouse and those stuffy limousines along with all the staff that were representative of his wealth. “But it’s too big.” She tugged at her hand, trying to break free so she didn’t have to confront one more example of how wealthy he was. Not only did it intimidate her, it reminded her of all the lies and how humiliated she’d felt when she’d discovered who he was.

“It isn’t too big. Will you trust me?”

“No.” She was being petulant and couldn’t stop herself. Nor did she care. She was too tired anyway to have the energy to be fair about his sailboat.

He laughed outright this time. “You’re going to have to,” he countered. “You need to relax and there’s nothing better than enjoying the afternoon sunshine on the deck of a sailboat.”

“A hammock,” she argued. “I could just relax in a hammock.”

“I don’t have a hammock,” he told her, leading her gently but relentlessly down the gangway without letting her go.

She tried to pry her hands away but he wasn’t allowing it. “I’m not getting on that boat, Emerson.”

“Call me Jack. Everyone here calls me Jack.”

She shook her head, refusing to play that same game again. “But you’re Emerson to me now.”

By the time she’d said the words, they were at the deck of the sailboat. “How about a drink?” he asked her.

“I don’t want anything else to drink,” she said with irritation. There were people on the docks that were already casting off, throwing the ropes onto the boat and she gripped the railing behind her. “I want to go home.” She probably sounded peevish, but she was too tired and irritated to care.

He laughed and chucked her teasingly under the chin. “You’re cute when you’re at your wit’s end, love.” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her, kissing her neck and causing shivers to shoot out in every direction. “Why don’t you go relax while we cast off?”

“We?” she asked, worried as she looked around. There were about four staff members in white uniforms that were hurrying about, pulling in ropes and neatly tying them up before they were tucked away.

She had no idea what to do since the only other time she’d been on a sailboat was when she’d gone out with Emerson the