The Billionaire's Secret Babies Read online

  Shit. What did I do wrong? He told me to bring the kids!

  “H-hi, Mr. Anderson,” I say, barely covering my stammer. “Er. I’m Manila Cross, we emailed earlier…”

  “I know who you are,” he says. His voice is deep and resounding, a baritone that would normally make me weak at the knees. Right now, however, I’m weak-kneed from nerves instead. “Thank you for coming so promptly.”

  He glances down at the stroller I’m pushing, and for a second, I could swear that glare of his softens, melts into something tender and pining. I lean closer to him, unable to help myself. There’s something longing in his eyes, something soft and vulnerable. For a second, he seems familiar, like someone I’ve met before. Someone I could fall for…

  “Do you like kids, Mr. Anderson?” I ask. Almost immediately, I could kick myself. What did I ask that for? Why draw attention to the biggest problem any employer will have with me?

  His eyes flash back to mine, all business again. Shit. That gaze is penetrating. It’s like he’s looking straight through me, into my very soul. “I like kids,” he replies, something of a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “Not always sure they like me.”

  “Oh, I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t,” I reply, without thinking. Then I flush. Crap. Stop flirting.

  But I can’t really help it. A gaze like that in bed could make a girl go wild… I shiver at the thought of his strong arms around me, wrapping me up, lifting me up from the floor, my body pinned against his as he leans in to claim my mouth…

  Then I shake myself back to the present.

  He seems to do the same. “Through here please, Ms. Cross.”

  I trail after him, a bundle of confusion. He leads me across the open-plan condo – which has warm wood floors and cozily-painted walls, not to mention wood accents everywhere. The office he takes me into even has an exposed brick wall, and an old-fashioned looking desk. Not at all the style I’d expect from a man like Cassius, but I love it. It’s rich but cozy at the same time, fancy and yet you could totally live here. Not like those stark white insane asylum-looking penthouses you see on TV.

  He draws to a halt, and I’m so busy gazing around the room that I collide with him. For a second, I feel his body heat against mine. He catches my arm, as if worried that I’ll fall, and I feel the burn of his palm against my skin long after he lets go and brushes off his coat, like he’s dusting me off of him.

  My face is flushed as I look around the office once more.

  He points to the desk. “These are my files,” he says, his voice curt, orderly. Snapping me back to reality. “I think you’ll find they are in presentable order – I just need them refilled into this drawer here, and my calendar updated and synced to my digital planner…” He leans over to turn on a computer, which unlike the rest of this office is definitely not an antique.

  He leads me through the tasks he’d like me to do – refile a stack of papers that are already meticulously organized, and copy his online calendar onto a hanging wall calendar, which he wants me to set up in his own office, adjacent to this one.

  All the while that he’s speaking, I can’t help sneaking glances around the room. It’s so neat and orderly in here. There’s nothing out of place, and his files don’t really need updating or anything. Why did he hire me? Normally if someone is looking for a PA, their life is a hot mess and they need things really tidied up.

  Just another mystery to add to the long list of things I can’t figure out about this man.

  I sneak a sideways glance up at Cassius as I reach into the carriage to pat Luca’s stomach. He’s giggly and happy, and every now and then interrupts Cassius with a loud laugh. His laugh is contagious, and soon enough he gets his sister started too. They’re both giggling, and Cassius actually cracks a smile – the first I’ve seen from him all day. He leans over to stroke Luca’s hair, and my heart does a spinning leap in my chest.

  Shit. He’s hot and bossy and he likes kids?

  I’m doomed.

  “Manila?”

  Crap. What was he saying? He’s standing so close to me, his masculine, deep scent flooding my senses. It’s hard to concentrate on anything else. He takes another step closer when I don’t reply, and I catch my breath, counting the inches between us, watching his muscular chest, hoping he doesn’t notice the way mine is rising and falling faster as I try to control my breathing, which is suddenly desperate.

  “Mmm?” I ask, hoping that’ll cover. I was a bit distracted staring at the way his muscles ripple underneath his shirt. He’s still got a hand resting on Luca’s carriage, and there’s something so sexy about that, the way he hangs out with the twins like it’s nothing, takes them in stride.

  His hard eyes stare dead into my own. “I said, take all the time you need to care for the babies in between this filing. None of it is particularly urgent.” His breath ghosts over my cheeks as he speaks, and it takes my brain a second to register what he said. The excuse he just handed me. Is he really this nonchalant about a job he’s hiring a PA for?

  My eyes widen. Seriously, did he just pop out of my imagination? “Are you sure? I don’t mind, if there’s something you want me to focus on right now…”

  “Just get acquainted with things. We’ll start on the bigger tasks next week. I don’t want to rush you.” He rests his hand on my shoulder, for just an instant, and every nerve ending in my body fires. We’re just inches apart. So close I can feel his heat on me. I fight an insane, stupid urge to throw myself at him right here and now.

  I haven’t gotten any action since giving birth to the twins – actually, no, since before I was even pregnant with them. My sex drive had been idling in the background, mostly forgotten, while I was swept up in parenting and all the crazy problems that come with it.

  Now, though, it returns, roaring with a vengeance. There’s something about this man. His body, his looks, his piercing gaze… Not to mention how fucking good he smells. Or the way his gaze seems to drop and take me in, studying my body the way I’m studying his, before he recovers himself and snaps his eyes back to mine, pretending nothing happened. All I can think about is his tight body, the way he could lift me up right now and bend me over this desk before I’d even have time to react. I think about him pushing the slim-fitting work skirt I’m wearing up over my hips, tearing off the tights I’m wearing beneath, his fingers expertly sliding under my panties to yank them down around my knees. He’d undo his own pants, run his cock over my bare ass, teasing me, toying with me, totally in control…

  I shiver. What is wrong with me! I force myself back into the present.

  “Thank you, Mr. Anderson,” I reply, and startle when he shakes his head, hard.

  His hand tightens on my shoulder. “Call me Cassius.”

  “Cassius,” I repeat, and his name tastes delicious on my tongue. “I’m Manila.”

  There’s that smile again. Not quite a full-on smile, more a teasing little smirk. Just half of his mouth, like it’s smiling against the permission of the other half. “Manila. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  For a long moment, we stare at one another, his gray eyes boring into mine. Then, without warning, he touches my shoulder again, his palm warm and reassuring before he lifts his hand away once more. Already I miss the warm pressure, the feeling of his palm through the thin fabric of my dressy work shirt. “I’ll leave you to it, Manila. Thank you again for taking this on.”

  He’s gone without another word, and I’m alone in the room with the paperwork and my babies.

  Lucie starts to fuss, and I slip her out of the stroller to bounce her on my knee while I wade into the first stack of papers in front of me. As long as I can keep my imagination just that – in my imagination – this job will be a piece of cake. Everything I could ask for.

  I just have to avoid screwing it up by fantasizing too much about my sexy new boss…

  4

  I’m in a hot tub. Steam surrounds me, obscuring my view – that is, until I feel warm hands
wrap around my waist from behind, and spin me slowly in the water. I turn to find Cassius behind me, his sexy, chiseled abs and chest on full display. I run my hands over his body, exploring every inch, until he cups my chin in his strong hand and pulls my face to his, claiming my mouth in a deep, slow kiss. I can feel his thighs under mine, his hips arcing up to meet mine, and his cock growing hard, pressed against my warm, wet pussy. Fuck, I want him so badly. I want him to tear off the thin swimsuit I’m wearing, thrust up into me and take control of my body.

  He shakes my shoulder, his hand warm and familiar on my skin. I arch my back, lean into him, moaning slightly, thrusting against him as he shakes me again, harder…

  “Manila,” he whispers, and I groan faintly.

  “Manila.”

  I start awake, jolting upright at the desk. Papers fly everywhere as I sit up, and one sticks to my forehead. I jerk it free, gasping, startled and confused. Where am I?

  The location materializes one piece at a time. The computer, in sleep mode in front of me. The stack of papers I’d made it halfway through. The pile now scattered across the floor.

  And of course, the man standing beside me, visible out of the corner of my eye. My cheeks burn so hot I could start a forest fire.

  I clear my throat. “Cassius,” I greet him, still blushing hardcore.

  At least he’s smiling a little. And, to my surprise, he’s cradling Luca in the crook of his arm, feeding him a bottle of warm formula. Luca is sucking away happily, his eyes closed in pleasure, making little mmm-mmm noises that make my heart melt.

  I blink at Cassius, still figuring out my surroundings. “Sorry,” I croak, my voice thick with sleep. “What time is it?”

  “Almost eleven,” he whispers. I wonder why he’s whispering for a second, until he points with his eyes toward the baby stroller. I glance over my shoulder and see he’s turned the stroller into a makeshift crib. Lucie is already fast asleep in it, curled up, a smile on her face as she dreams. “Are you okay?”

  How did he get her to fall asleep without Luca beside her? Normally it’s impossible for me to make one relax without the other one being within sight.

  When I glance back at him, he’s smiling fondly at Lucie. God, this man knows the way to a new mommy’s heart.

  “Yeah. Of course. Thanks for waking me,” I murmur. Then I stiffen, worried. Oh god. “Did you say eleven?” I blurt, grabbing for my cell phone. Crap.

  “Yes. What’s wrong?” His brow furrows.

  Oh shit. I got here at 6pm; I’d been planning to leave by 8 to catch the last bus out to my neighborhood in the suburbs. It’s such a long ride, and there are so few public buses that still run the route. Now it’s way too late – buses here stop running at 11pm, at least all the way out into my neighborhood.

  “I’ve got to get a cab,” I mumble, hurrying to gather my things, stuffing baby items into my bag willy-nilly. “I missed my bus. Crap crap crap.”

  He stops me with a gentle hand wrapped around my wrist. “Manila.”

  I glance up at him panicked and wide-eyed. I’m so worried I don’t even notice how close we are, or how concerned and sympathetic the expression on his face is. “It’s going to cost a fortune at this hour, with the mark-ups, and the whole Uber being banned thing.” I’m babbling, I know it, but I can’t stop myself. Argh. This is the worst possible first impression I could make on my future boss!

  “Don’t worry about it—” he starts to say, but I interrupt him.

  Who even knows if he wants to be my boss after this display. “I’m so sorry,” I add again, cutting over him. “I’m an idiot.”

  His frown deepens. “You don’t have a car?”

  I hesitate, embarrassed. Then shake my head.

  He blinks. “Why on earth not? Do you have your license?”

  I grimace. “Of course I do,” I retort, a little annoyed. Then I rub my temples. “I can’t afford a car. Not with the insurance, and repairs and gas and everything…”

  “You take buses everywhere?”

  I bob my head. “But they won’t be running this late, so I’ll have to call a cab… Which is fine, I just, I didn’t expect—”

  He’s already shaking his head, so hard I’m afraid he’s going to drop Luca. Of course, he’s got better hand-eye coordination than me, so he doesn’t. “Just stay here for the night.”

  My eyes nearly bulge out of my head. “What? No – I couldn’t – I mean, the twins need their beds, and…”

  “I have a spare room,” he says. “There’s a crib in there already. Plus a twin bed for you. Stay.” His eyes bore into mine. Who could say no to a gaze like that? “I insist.”

  A little shiver of desire races down my spine. I remember my dream, too little too late. The hot tub, his strong, warm body pressed hard against mine, his hands taking control of me, pulling down my swimsuit and tracing the outline of my pussy, his fingertips just barely brushing my lips…

  I shiver again. “Really, it’s too much,” I try to protest, but it sounds weak. Fragile.

  He’s already walking away, carrying Luca into the apartment. I pick up Lucie carefully, making sure not to wake her from her sleep. Together, he and I tiptoe across the penthouse, to a small door at the opposite end.

  He wasn’t lying. He has a whole spare room, made up and tidy, the bed neat, and a crib beside it. Extra wide, too, just like the one I have them in at home.

  Why does he have all this stuff here? Does he have kids too?

  That would explain why he’s so good with them. He holds Luca like an experienced father, not a first timer just encountering their first baby.

  He lays Luca in the crib, and I notice my son is already snoring faintly. He fell asleep while Cassius was carrying him, and somehow, magically, he doesn’t wake up when Cassius lays him down. I place Lucie beside him, and we stand side-by-side next to the crib for a moment, watching them wrap their tiny hands around one another’s and sigh in their sleep, content.

  Then, without a word, we tiptoe out of the room together, as one, easing the door closed behind us.

  “Are you really sure about this?” I ask him in the hallway.

  “Trust me, Manila.” He glances over at me. His eyes travel up and down my body, and for a sudden startled second, I wonder if he’s thinking the same thing that I am. About the space between us – or lack thereof right now. About how easy it would be for me to take one step closer to him, wrap my arms around his neck and lean into his body. He’s staring at me almost hungrily, like he wants me as badly as I want him.

  For the first time since long before I had the kids – since before my last string of shitty exes, one guy who told me I wasn’t hot enough for him after the next – I suddenly feel attractive. No, more than attractive.

  I feel sexy as hell, the way he’s undressing me with his eyes.

  “Okay,” I respond, belatedly. Surely he’s noticed how out of breath I am, how long it took me to reply. How intently I’m staring at his chest. He’s watching me the same way, taking in my body. We want each other. I can feel it, taste it…

  He leans closer, and my lips part, my eyes dropping to study his mouth. His three-day stubble stands out, dark against his tan jaw, and his mouth parts slightly too, like he’s about to close the last few inches between us…

  “Sleep well,” he says. Then he brushes past me up the hallway.

  I stand there, frozen, staring after him. Until I hear the distant slam of a door, and realize he’s gone into his own bedroom suite.

  What the hell was that? I wonder, gazing down the empty hallway.

  I shake my head. Doesn’t matter. He’s giving me a job, and a place to stay for the night to boot. That’s all I need to know for now.

  5

  Cassius’s strange spare room not only has a crib in it, but also a full wardrobe of spare clothes. There are a few women’s clothes mingled in, and I feel a little guilty when I pull out a spare T-shirt and pajama shorts to wear. But it’s either this or put my work dress back on to
deal with babies, and frankly, this seems like the lesser of two evils. I’m Cassius’s girlfriend won’t mind me borrowing this shirt as long as I wash it after. It looks pretty worn-out.

  Not going to lie, though, I feel more than a little jealous at discovering these clothes. I slip on the shorts and shirt, wondering who the lucky woman who snagged a guy like Cassius is. She must be hot as hell – probably some towering European model with millionaire parents or something.

  Someone the complete opposite of me, sitting here with bags under my eyes and my hair a wild mess, feeding the babies as I blink sleep out of my eyes. Like always, they woke me far earlier than I’d prefer. I love them but damn, how long until they’re old enough to sleep in to a reasonable hour in the mornings?

  Once they’re fed and reasonably settled again, I decide that going back to sleep will be impossible. I’m wide awake by now – and thinking way too hard about who this mystery woman of Cassius’s must be.

  As I pad barefoot out into the kitchen to start on breakfast, I tell myself it’s unfair to be jealous. After all, I don’t know this girl at all. She’s probably really nice. And cool.

  But ugh, life is so unfair sometimes.

  I root through the fridge. Yep, no way this guy is single – there’s actually food in here. I fish out some eggs, cheese, mushrooms and green peppers. Omelets are one of my favorite comfort foods, and it’s the least I can do to make Cassius breakfast after he so graciously let me crash here last night. After I missed my bus like an idiot.

  Great first impressions all around, Manila, I think bitterly.

  I’ve finished the omelets and have moved on to frying some bacon when my spine suddenly starts to tingle. I turn around to find Cassius leaning against the doorway, watching me, his expression unreadable.