Admit You Love Me: A Secret Baby Romance (Irresistible Billionaires Book 2)

each other, and he had other women on the side. When we had sex, it was passionless and over fast. This man was another story completely, one that was about to repeat.
“Make yourself comfortable,” he said, opening the door to his suite and letting me in ahead of him. I burst into nervous giggles. That was what he said the first time too. I walked in and looked around. The suite was palatial, roomy with rustic furnishings. Far, far out of my budget I thought. It was foolish how much tonight and the night five years ago mirrored each other. I was going to sleep with him again, but I couldn’t be less excited.
He had given me one of the best nights of my life, but my financial situation was a little more pressing at the moment than the impending repeat performance. I was finding it hard to get sexually excited when I had just lost a huge amount of money to him. Money he didn’t need and which I had no conceivable way of getting back at the moment.
“Scotch?” he asked. I hadn’t noticed him walking over to the bar to fill two tumblers with the brown liquid. I didn’t particularly want a drink, no. I would have much preferred the money that I lost tonight. He clinked the side of his glass against mine and I took a tentative sip. I knew the way the night was going to end. There was nothing I could do about that but the money was bothering me. Short of asking him outright to give me the cash, what the hell was I supposed to do?
Please… what was his name?
I had forgotten the man’s name. I giggled again.
“What's so funny?” he asked.
“I don’t remember what your name is,” I said. He laughed, looking down.
“I thought calling you the Baroness had a nice air of mystery about it.”
“After all the time we’ve spent together, in and out of bed, maybe it makes sense to know what the other is called.”
He formally stretched his hand out. “Niall Bridges.” I nodded, shaking his hand.
“Edwina but everyone calls me Eddy.”
“Eddy. I like that,” he said. I felt a little ripple through me. Oh my god grow up, I thought. He said he liked your name. You didn’t even pick it yourself. Focus. You’re here to figure out how to get your money back. I needed to figure out something to bet on.
Was this how gambling addictions started? I didn’t often empathize with Russell but at the moment I was.
Just one more game. Unlike him, my life depended on it, god rest his soul. I didn’t begrudge him, but he was the reason I was being reduced to this. I could get out of this hole, all I needed was one more game.
I took a swig of my drink and took a few leisurely steps around the room.
“What say you to another game?” I asked. He looked surprised.
“Again? You enjoy losing, don’t you?”
I shrugged. “I like to play. I want to bet. On anything, it doesn’t even have to be cards.”
He seemed pensive. I wasn’t sure whether it was working. Maybe he was done. He had gotten his prize and now all he wanted to do was collect. I scrambled to think of something.
“I know,” I said, walking up to him. He was almost a head taller than me even though I was in heels. “A friendly wager.”
“What do you mean?”
“A staring contest.”
He laughed. A staring contest. I cringed internally. It was the best that I could come up with on short notice.
“You’re kidding,” he said.
I shook my head. “Someone sounds scared.”
“Me? Eddy, you don’t even have anything to bet with,” he pointed out. “Far as I’m concerned, I won already.”
I took a deep breath. He was kind of tipsy, and he seemed like he was in a good enough mood to go along with me. I had to try.
“A simple staring contest. If you blink first, I get that fancy watch of yours. If I blink first, you can have my panties.”
He laughed again. That was a good sign. It meant that he was game. I still had a chance. Whatever came out of tonight, I could go away with a thirty-thousand-pound watch.
“Okay,” he said. “But before I agree to anything, I'll need to get a look at the goods.”
Of course, he did. He had already agreed to my terms, so I was amenable. Besides that, spending time with him all night and now being in the same room with him had gotten to me. The drinks I had put away through the night had gotten to my mind but I wasn’t doing anything with him that I didn’t expressly want to do. I turned around slowly and bent over, at the same time hiking up the skirt of my dress so that it rose over my hips and thighs. I was wearing a white, lacy thong. I hadn’t expected anyone to get a look at my pants tonight but I was thankful that they were one of my nicer pairs. I turned back around in time to see the look on his face. He was flushed. He swallowed and nodded, unlatching his watch.
“Now you.”
I slid the panties off and placed them next to his watch on the table. I stood in front of him and looked up at his eyes. They were blue, a beautiful blue which looked like it got brighter in the light and darker in the shade. Oh no, this wasn't going to be easy. His jaw was set, and he looked determined. He wasn't going down without a fight.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Go.” I stared into his eyes. Seconds passed but they felt like much longer. I tried to concentrate. Think about the money, think about the watch, think about what we were going to be doing later. His eyes were so deep. They had seen me at my absolute lowest moment. They had been in my fantasies for years on end. I