C4 An Offer For The Bad Billionaire

Jake stared at her, his eyes hard and cold. The expression on his face could have frozen an ice cube. He was like that for a long moment, staring at her, not believing he had wasted his time coming to meet her. He knew there was nothing he could say to change her mind. The hardness In her eyes told him he would only be wasting his time trying to convince her to sell her horses. Gableton was right. This woman was a hard nut to crack. He felt rage surged through him at this realization, and the only thing that came to his mind was to spite her. He knew she loved those horses of hers, and that is what he was going to use to spite her. Slowly, he got to his feet and pointed a thick finger at her.

"You know you must be damn crazy for tossing away five million dollars for some damn horses that ain't worth shit ? "he seethed out.

Lisa turned white. She felt a sudden rush of fury sweep her. Jake saw the angry glint in her eyes and smiled to himself. It was working.

"I'm not crazy ! "she spat out. "And those horses are not damned. Don't ever say that. You can call me anything, but don't talk about my horses that way. Got it ? "her eyes were glittering at him like wet pebbles.

Jake shrugged indifferently.

"Nope! I don't get it at all, "he said blandly, and he went on, ignoring the cold tightness of her face. "For me, I still believe you are crazy. I wasted my time coming over here. Who gives a shit about some damned thoroughbreds that don't even know jack about racing anyway ?. To hell with you and your damned horses. "he bawled.

He didn't even see the slap coming. Her palms exploded on the side of his cheek, and the sound was like the bursting of a paper bag.

"Get out ! "she yelled, pointing to the door. "Get out, you big-headed fool, or I won't be sorry for what would happen next! Get out! "

His eyes blazing with fury, Jake thrusts out his hand, and he found himself shaking her by her shoulders, jerking her black, raven head forwards and backward, glaring down at her as if he could snap her into two.

"Don’t you ever do that again, alright ? “ he said violently “ I’m not one of your goddamned wrangler or maids that you can slap around. I’m Jake Courtland ! A fucking billionaire ! Burn that into your thick-headed skull ! Now, apologize! “ he gritted out, looking menacing and violent.

Her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide with shock; Lisa looked scared out of her wits.

“ Let go of me, “ she babbled, her voice trembling. “ You are hurting me! Let go” the words tumbled out of her mouth.

“ Not before you apologize, “ he bawled, tightening his grip on her.

“ I can’t.......do that, “ she said huskily. “ I never apologize. “

“ If you don’t do that, I’m not going to let go of you, “ he said harshly. “ we might as well remained this way. “

Lisa stared at him, her chest rising and falling. Her heart was pounding wildly, and she wondered why. There was a defiant look in his eyes that told her he was used to having his way. And yet, there was something else; something like the way any man will look at her woman he desires but at that moment, she wasn’t sure. She knew if she did not say what he wanted to hear, he wouldn’t let her go. She was sure of that. So she braced herself and said ;

“ I’m sorry, alright. I’m sorry. Now will you let me go “ she said breathlessly, hating herself for her weakness.

Jake held her for some moments, then he relaxed his grip on her, but he didn’t let go of her arms. His eyes stared hard into her face, then slowly, his gaze traveled down to the front of her open-neck shirts, and he saw her heavy breasts, rising and falling.

“ You are no different from any other woman, “ he growled.“ You are just so goddamned stubborn, that’s all. Other than that, you are no different. “ Then he did something Lisa would have never expected him to do, something which shocked her. He pulled her against his chest, his arms sliding around her, holding her tightly in his arms. “ I could kiss you senseless right now, and you wouldn’t do a damn thing, “his dark eyes twinkling with amusement.

Lisa felt her color rise. The heat of his palms burned through her shirt into her flesh, and she shivered violently.

“ You wouldn’t dare......” she said breathlessly“ you wouldn't do such a thing. “

“ The hell I can’t, “ he gritted out, and he moistened his lips with his tongue.

That action made her legs go weak. The look in his eyes told her he meant to kiss her, and he was going to do it. She tried to say something, but her throat was paralyzed. Her heart was pounding hard against her ribs, and the muscles of her thighs were fluttering. She would have loved to push him away, but at that moment, her hands felt as heavy as lead. All she could do was stare back into his eyes, holding on to him. He bent his head, and as she braced herself, they both heard movements. Automatically, their heard turned towards the direction. Sally had come into the living room. In her hand was a tray filled with plates of food. Jake and Lisa pulled away from each other instantly.

“ Oh, I’m sorry, miss Wolfe. I didn’t know you've got a visitor. I only came to tell your lunch is ready, “ the old maid babbled, a worried expression on her face.

Lisa felt her throat thicken, and she swallowed hard.

“ Don’t worry about it, “ she said rapidly. “ Mr Courtland was just about to leave “ the whole thing had affected her so much she had managed to say those words in a rush. She glanced at Jake. She was surprised to see his face calm and expressionless. It was as if nothing had happened in the last few minutes or so. Who the hell is this man? She asked herself. Jake was saying something now, and she quickly turned her mind away from her thoughts.

“ I'll be on my way now. Please do think about our discussion. My offer still stands. “ he said, staring hard at her.

“ Mr Courtland......I “ Lisa began but stopped abruptly when she noticed he was no longer paying attention to her. He was looking at Sally now.

“ That sure smells nice, ma’am. “ he beamed at Sally. “ I'd have loved to have a taste, but I gotta run. Got somethings to do, “ and without even looking at Lisa, he turned and walked out of the house in easy, long strides.

Lisa watched him go, and she swallowed hard. When he had smiled at Sally, he had even looked younger and more handsome than ever.

“ Oh Lordy, miss Wolfe “ Sally gasped. “ Who is he? From the day I’ve been on this ranch, I’ve never seen a fine specimen of man on two legs as that one. Who is he ? “

“ Jake Courtland! “ Lisa answered in a small voice. Slowly, she walked towards the window and lifted the chinks. She watched as Jake slid into his car, whipped the car around with the expert skill of a good driver, swung the car onto the dirt road, and drove hard and fast out of the ranch. She remained motionless until the sound of the car engine had died away. Then slowly, as she turned away from the window, a plan was already forming in her mind.

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The time was past nine. Jake was inside his office, in his armchair, a thick cigar burning anxiously between his finger, his face expressionless. Earlier that day, he had woke up early, took a quick shower, and breakfasted on a sumptuous meal prepared by Carl. And now, as he sat inside his office, he was thinking hard and fast about what had happened at Lisa Wolfe's ranch the other day. The way things had turned out had shocked him.

All he had had in mind was to go out there and convince her to sell her horses to him. Unfortunately, she had knocked off that idea, and worse still, he had found himself attracted to her. He remembered how he had held her in his arms and the way her smoky blue eyes had stared at him. Damn! He could never forget that look in her eyes. He had never wanted any woman the way he had wanted her at that moment. He put the cigar between his lips, dragged hard on it, and exhaled a thick smoke that spiral to the ceilings. He knew if the maid hadn't come in when she did, he would have kissed her. Not because he could do it but because he had really wanted to. But why? He asked himself. Why would he want that? For Christ's sake, he just met her, and with everything he had heard about her, he knew he could never love that kind of woman.