She arched back against him, crying out. Her hips bucked with his next thrust, pushing back. He let his fingers glide over her clit even as he thrust again, wanting to bring her along with him. He pumped into her with another quick stroke, rubbing her clit harder. Her mouth fell open, her eyes closed as she rocked her hips in response, her hand covering his as if to drag him away from her.
To his surprise, she wasn’t stopping him from rubbing her clit. Instead, she grasped his hand and pushed his fingers against her flesh, hard, rubbing with a ferocity that he wouldn’t have thought to use.
It made him wild.
He bit her neck, then her shoulder, even as he rubbed and pushed harder against her sensitive flesh. She was sucking in small breaths now, her throat catching with every rough stroke of his fingers, every forceful stab of his cock. He could feel her muscles tensing against him as she rocked, her movements becoming erratic.
Her pussy began to clench around him, quivering with her orgasm. She made a strangled little sound in her throat that was about the sexiest damn thing he’d ever heard, and that pushed him over the edge. He bit down on her shoulder again, teeth locked into her soft flesh as he came, pumping into her.
When he could breathe again, he lifted his head and kissed the bite mark he’d left on her shoulder. She was looking at him with a dazed, sleepy gaze that was almost . . . adoring.
Then she glanced over at the alarm clock. Her mouth lifted in a sad smile. “Nine A.M. I guess you should get going soon? You’re probably busy.”
Travis frowned. He was supposed to be busy today, yes. He was pretty sure there was a business meeting in about a half hour that he was going to end up missing. He didn’t care. He didn’t feel like going anywhere right at the moment. “Why? You trying to get rid of me?”
Her eyes widened. “No, not at all. I just didn’t want you to feel . . . obligated to stick around.” She bit her lip and tugged at the sheet, sliding away from him. “I should shower. Gregory’s going to need a walk before you leave with him.”
She looked terribly sad. He wanted to tell her to keep the damn pig, but the words stuck in his throat. She couldn’t. And his grandmother had wanted him to have the thing.
She wrapped the sheet around her voluptuous body and turned away without giving him a backward look. He heard the boards creak in the old house as she headed down the hall to the bathroom, heard the shower start.
He lay back in bed, head on her soft pillows, staring at the ceiling. He wouldn’t see her again after today. There’d be no reason to. She’d be starting a new life in Dallas, and he’d return to his meetings, business trips, and endless emails. His grandmother’s house would sit empty and forgotten until his parents returned from their sailing trip.
Everyone would go their separate ways. As they should.
But for some reason, he kept thinking of Risa’s soft smile. The way her eyes lit up with pleasure. The delicate spatter of freckles on her hips. The plump ass pushing up against him as he’d slept. The way she’d grabbed his hand and showed him exactly what she wanted.
That was Risa in a nutshell—soft and sweet and laughing, but determined to get what she wanted. That was what had made her such a good caretaker for his grandmother. She was kind and thoughtful, with a core of steel. Hell, she no longer even asked him if he wanted the pig. She just assumed he was taking it with him.
He liked that about Risa. She intrigued him, and she was sexy, and she was incredibly stubborn. One night wasn’t going to be enough time with her, he knew. He wanted more time to explore her body. To take her a hundred different ways and see her reactions. To see what other things she’d be demanding about. He needed to find a way to keep her close to him for a little while longer yet.
Until he got her out of his system.
A brilliant idea formed in his mind.
* * *
When Risa got out of the shower, Travis was no longer in her bed. She ignored the momentary twinge of disappointment at that and got dressed. She could hear him in the kitchen, dishes clinking, and heard a small piggy squeal that told her that he’d let Gregory in from outside. Good—maybe they were bonding. Maybe this wouldn’t be as painful for all parties involved as she had thought.
The moment she walked into the kitchen, though, that thought flew out the window. To her horror, one of the casserole dishes of leftovers had been taken out of the fridge and set on the floor for Gregory to eat. The pig wolfed the noodles down, his little tail pinwheeling with excitement. At the nearby dining table, Travis had a cup of coffee and was checking messages on his BlackBerry.
She raced to the pan, sliding it away from the pig. “What are you doing? You can’t feed a pig tuna casserole!”
Travis glanced over at her, then down at the pig, his brows wrinkling together. “He was eating it.”
“He’s not supposed to eat it,” she cried, dumping the food into the garbage. “You can’t give him people food. He’ll get sick. And fat.” She shook her head at Travis, dismayed. “Your gran and I were always very careful with his diet.”
“I know the gross profit margins of thirteen different competing companies, Risa. I can do extremely complicated macros in spreadsheets to calculate financial data. I can persuade investors to purchase technology they’re certain will fail.” He glanced up from his BlackBerry to look over at her. “I don’t know how to feed a pig.”
Risa said nothing for a moment, an unhappy knot sinking into her stomach. He was right. He didn’t know how to feed a pig, and he was going to take Gregory away before he had a chance to learn. The pig was used to very specific meals and she worried about his health if Travis just fed him whatever. “If you have an extra hour or two, we can go over his care—”
“I don’t have an extra hour or two,” Travis said.
She bit her lip, thinking hard. “I can e-mail you instructions—”
“No,” he said firmly, then put his BlackBerry aside. He stood up and moved toward her, stepping carefully around the pig still staring up at Risa with hopeful eyes. “I want you to come with me.”
Huh? Risa blinked. “Come again?”
“I will pay you to come with me to Houston,” he said slowly, his face utterly serious, no hint of a smile touching his mouth. “It doesn’t have to be long. A week. Two, max. You come with me, move in to my apartment. Show me how to care for the pig. And then you leave.”
And then you leave. So cut and dry. So simple.
So businesslike. What they’d done last night was anything but businesslike. Could she be around him if all he wanted was a live-in pig maid? Why did that hurt her heart so much? She shook her head. “My friends are expecting me in Dallas.”
He glanced back down at his BlackBerry again, typing. “Do you have a job there?”
She swallowed. “Not yet.”
“I’ll pay you twenty grand for two weeks of your time.”
Her jaw dropped.
At her silence, he glanced up again. “Thirty?”
“Thirty’s good,” she squeaked. “Just to show you how to care for a pig?”
A slow, devastating smile suddenly curved his hard mouth. “I’d be lying if I said I only had the pig in mind.”
A warm flush heated her cheeks. She bit her lip, not wanting to giggle like a schoolgirl. Or seem too eager. Instead, she pointed out, “This is sounding awfully a lot like a Pretty Woman arrangement. I don’t know if I approve.”
“It’s just for two weeks,” he told her. “And if you want it to be purely business, it can be.” His tone grew crisp and efficient. Oh no. He was retreating to businessman mode. She’d screwed this up.
Her dream man was asking her to spend two weeks with him for a crazy amount of money, and here she was messing it up.
Risa suddenly pushed forward and brushed aside his BlackBerry. Before he could comment on that, she
wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a hard, fierce kiss. His tongue gave hers a possessive stroke in response before she broke the kiss, letting her know that he was very much interested in her. “I want this to be more than business,” she told him. “Don’t misunderstand me.”
And that smile curved his mouth again. “Good.”
* * *
With her bags packed, Risa harnessed Gregory and clipped on his leash, determined to take him for one last walk before they left Bluebonnet behind for Houston.
Her motive wasn’t entirely altruistic, of course. She needed time to gather her thoughts and clear her mind. Being around Travis was heady, and she wanted to make sure she just wasn’t intoxicated with her fantasy of him.
Gregory was excited about the walk, prancing and snorting down the sidewalk. Risa deliberately ignored the sleek, black sedan in the driveway—she didn’t want to gawk at it like a rube—as they left the old Victorian house and turned down the street. Pearl had lived two blocks away from Main Street in tiny Bluebonnet, and that was their destination today. Risa had a few people she wanted to say good-bye to . . . and to talk with. Just in case she was losing her mind.
After all, not every woman was offered thirty thousand dollars for two weeks of simply taking care of a pig. Was she crazy to jump on it? Wouldn’t she be crazy not to?
The pig’s hooves clicked on the sidewalk, his little tail swishing, and she smiled at the sight of him. He was such a good pig. Well mannered, smart, not a biter. She was glad she was going to get to spend a little more time with him and his new owner. She wanted Travis to love Gregory as much as she did, and as much as Pearl had. How could you not love such a sweet animal?
Lost in thought, Risa waved a greeting to passersby as they strolled down the street. Gregory was well known to people in these parts, and she smiled politely when children would come up to pet him, as they always did. Everyone loved seeing the spotted pink and gray pig, and it just further reinforced her decision. She’d go to Houston and make sure that Travis didn’t abandon Gregory as soon as her back was turned. If he needed two weeks to fall in love with the pig, by golly, she’d make it happen. Then, when she left them behind, she could be confident that both would be happy with their new circumstance. She owed Pearl’s memory no less.
As she passed by the only hair salon in Bluebonnet, she paused thoughtfully, looking into the glass at her reflection. Her hair was a tumble around her head, her eyebrows were dark, unsculpted slashes. She looked down at her nails, noticing they were ragged from where she’d been biting them during the past week due to anxiety over her situation.
Inside the salon, a hand waved and the door clanged open a moment later. A tall, perfectly made-up blonde in a pale tank top and matching white capris tucked a magazine under her arm. “Hey, honey,” Beth Ann cried out. “I was wondering if we were going to see you before you left us for Dallas!”
Risa hugged her friend on the sidewalk, gesturing at the pig. “I was giving Gregory here a walk before I leave. He doesn’t travel well.”
Beth Ann gave a little hop, her heeled sandals clicking on the pavement. “Oh mercy, did you meet that billionaire Pearl said was her nephew? Was he gorgeous?”
Risa bit her lip. “Yes and yes. Can we talk for a sec?”
“Of course, honey!” Beth Ann tugged the door to her small salon back open and gestured for Risa to enter. “Come on in. I can put out a bowl of water for your piggy. Does he like cheese and crackers? Celery? I’ve got a few things in the mini fridge.”
“Celery,” Risa said, slipping inside into the cool air-conditioning. The day wasn’t hot yet, but it was definitely going to be a muggy one. “No one here this morning?”
“I have a ten A.M.,” Beth Ann said, flipping the lock on the door and then turning around her closed sign before heading to the back of the salon. Risa heard the blonde rooting about in the fridge, then watched her pull out a small bowl and pour a water bottle into it. “Which gives us plenty of time to chat. Have a seat.” She gestured at the salon chair. “Want me to do your nails? Eyebrows?”
“Yes to both?” Risa said with a faint smile, dropping Gregory’s leash. The pig immediately ran for the bowl and began to drink in noisy gulps. Risa took the empty chair at Beth Ann’s nail station and sat.
“Both, hmm?” Beth Ann gave her a knowing look. “This billionaire must be cute. He single?”
“I sure hope so,” Risa said, and grimaced. “Considering I slept with him last night.”
Beth Ann gave her a wide-eyed look. “You did?”
Risa explained as much as she could about the situation—how she’d had such a crush on him for so very long. How he’d been lonely and staring at her with his hot eyes. How he’d been a little drunk and vulnerable and she’d more or less jumped him. “And I don’t regret it. Shouldn’t I regret it?”
“Not if he’s hot,” Beth Ann said in a practical voice, plugging in the wax heater and then setting a timer. “Does he like Gregory?”
“Not really,” Risa said. At her friend’s dismayed look, she rushed on, “He says he’s too busy to take care of a pig. He didn’t know it was a pig, either. He thought it was a dog. I was sitting right there when he tried to call a shelter to come and pick him up. You know that would have killed Pearl.” She twisted her hands in her lap, and then admitted the rest. “This morning, he offered me thirty grand if I’d go live with him for the next few weeks and show him how to take care of Gregory.”
Beth Ann said nothing for a long moment, and then leaned over to stir the heating wax. “Mmmhmmm.”
Risa couldn’t tell if that was a good mhmm or a bad mhmm. So she continued, “And I think I’m going to do it. I don’t have to be in Dallas right away, not really. And it’d be good to show him how to love and care for Gregory. I know that if he has some time with him, he’ll get attached. It’s impossible not to love Gregory. And someone’s got to do the job. Did you know he tried to feed the poor thing tuna casserole this morning?”
“Mmmhmmm.” Beth Ann walked to the shelf of nail polishes and picked up a bottle of pale pink, then began to shake it.
“So what do you think?”
The blonde paused in her nail-polish shaking. “You’re asking my opinion? Why?”
Risa twisted her hands. “You don’t think this is dangerously close to . . . you know . . . hooking?”
Beth Ann laughed. “Did he offer you thirty grand to sleep with him?”
“Well, no. But I’m going to sleep with him anyhow.”
“Then it’s not hooking,” she said bluntly. “It’s a case of him being really hot and needing a service you provide. Don’t look at it like hooking. Look at it like, I don’t know. Pig nannying.”
Risa gave a skeptical snort. “That’s a damn expensive nanny.”
“Hey, if you want a specialist, sometimes you have to fork out a little more than you’d expect.” Beth Ann’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “It sounds good to me, honey. Thirty grand would set you on your feet when you go to Dallas. In the meantime, you can have your cake and eat it, too.”
With that, Risa began to feel better. She smiled at her friend. “So you don’t think I’m selling myself too cheap?”
“Of course not.” With a mischievous grin, Beth Ann picked up a nail file and then Risa’s hand. “You tell that handsome, rich man that you know the best hairdresser in town, and she’s willing to be bought, too.”
Risa laughed.
* * *
The drive to Houston was more uneventful than Risa had expected.
Gregory wasn’t a good traveler—though the pig was good natured and easygoing most of the time, he didn’t like being inside a car. He squealed with fright and huddled at Risa’s feet for the entire drive, and the driver cast her annoyed looks in the rearview mirror time and time again as she tried in vain to calm the pig down. Trav
is hadn’t said a thing, though.
He’d been on his BlackBerry the entire time. She wasn’t sure what to make of that. Surely one man couldn’t have that much work, could he? He had people he could delegate to. He could at least chat with her, make her feel a bit easier about her decision.
But he hadn’t. He’d only laid a possessive hand on her knee and continued to text and answer e-mails with his other hand, and they drove to Houston in silence.
Well, except for the squeals of the pig.
When they’d hit the outskirts of Houston, she began wondering what area of town Travis lived in. When they headed downtown, her stomach began to sink. As they headed into the arts district and pulled up to the door of a large, posh apartment building, her stomach twisted into a knot.
This building was . . . ridiculous. It was clearly a high-rise intended to cater to the Houston elite. There was even a doorman who rushed forward to get the car door for her. He paused at the sight of Gregory, but recovered quickly, gesturing for her to exit the car.
She did so, biting her lip and holding Gregory’s leash tightly. A moment later, Travis was at her side.
“Are you sure this place takes pets?” she asked in a worried voice, staring at the sculpted bushes in front of the glass doors.
“They will,” Travis said, putting a hand at her back to lead her forward.
But Risa couldn’t fight her misgivings. When Gregory’s little hooves clacked against the marble floors as they moved through the lobby, she winced. When people passed by and gave them frowning stares, she quailed a bit internally. She glanced over at Travis, but he was still occupied with his BlackBerry, even as his hand on her back steered her toward the elevator.
They went up to the top floor, and at the door at the end of the hall, Travis pulled out a key card and ran it through. The door opened with an electronic beep, and he gestured for her to follow him in.
His apartment looked like a showplace, and the nervousness in her stomach grew. Cherry hardwood floors gleamed under a white throw rug. His couches were white leather, the coffee table a delicate glass confection. The far wall was entirely windows, showcasing the Houston skyline. Expensive abstract art hung from the walls. The place looked as if it had never seen a fingerprint or a smudge or a speck of dirt.