Billionaires in New York Boxed Set: Billionaires in the City Books 1-3 Laura Burton (books to read this summer .TXT) 📖

hers. He was like a hungry lion and she was his prey. Willingly, she closed the gap and the tension between them reached new dizzying heights.

A vibration broke the two apart. Harry looked down at his leg. As he sat back, Julie took the opportunity to recover herself. Her skin was on fire, as if someone just dialed her sensitivity levels up to maximum.

“Remember, I asked you to come with me to this charity event?” Harry asked, looking up from his phone.

“Yes,” Julie nodded as she gingerly touched her throbbing lips. Harry eyed her.

“Did I mention it’s in London?”

No. He didn’t mention that.

Julie suppressed the urge to gasp and planted a fixed smile on her face.

“England? Great, I’ll be able to see my parents.”

“I wondered if you were British. The accent,” he said, leaning forward and smoothing Julie’s hair with tenderness.

“I’m sounding more American every day. But I thought you’d pick it up, seeing as you are too.”

Harry shook his head. “I’m not British,” he said firmly.

“But you said you went to––” Julie began. Harry raised a hand in the air, as if about to offer up his darkest secrets and Julie fell silent again.

“I said I went to boarding school in England. I didn’t say I was born there.”

“Oh that’s right, sorry. Where did you say you were from again?” Julie asked, blushing profusely. She had been so preoccupied with gazing at Harry’s perfectly chiseled face that she hadn’t paid much attention to their dinner conversation.

“My parents were born in Canada, then settled in Idaho. After their divorce, my mother married an English diplomat and they live in Surrey now.”

“So, you’re kind of British?”

Harry’s face reddened as he laughed.

“How does that make me kind of British?”

Julie chuckled back.

“I don’t know,” she said simply. “But you’re not really Canadian, are you? Not if you were born in Idaho and grew up in a British boarding school.”

“I suppose.” Harry rubbed his chin and looked down in thought. Their heated moment had passed, and Julie looked awkwardly out of the window. An endless stream of raindrops poured against the glass, and she inwardly groaned at the thought of running up the steps to her apartment.

My dress will be like a pile of old rags by the time I get inside.

“Can I walk you to the door?” Harry asked gentlemanly. Julie snapped her head back to him and raised her brows.

“In that?” she gestured to the window with her thumb. “I hardly think there’s any reason for us both to end up like drowned rats.”

“You’re right.” Harry looked thoughtful again. “We’d have to get out of our wet clothes before we catch a cold.”

Julie opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water.

“Mr. Jackson! I have standards, you know.”

Harry grinned sheepishly. “Sorry,” he added quickly. He bent down and pulled out a black umbrella from under his seat. “Now, if you would allow me to walk you to the door, I promise that neither of us will be like drowned rats.”

Harry stuck to his word. He expertly shielded them with the black umbrella in the rain as Julie picked up the skirt of her gown and tiptoed up the stone steps. At the door stop, she turned to face Harry, pressed up against his chest, and craned her neck to look at his face.

“Thank you,” she said a little louder than usual. The rain hit the umbrella like a beating drum. It was not as fast as her heartbeat, though. “So, when will I see you again?”

Harry’s eyes creased as his mouth curved upward. He took his free hand and caressed Julie’s cheek.

“Not soon enough,” he replied.

Smooth.

“When are we going to England? I’m not the boss, like you are. I’ll have to ask for time off.” Julie offered a playful grin as she walked her fingers up his sleeve. Harry rested his hand over hers and his eyes moved side to side as he looked into Julie’s eyes with adoration. They were like two long-term lovers sharing a tender farewell.

“The event is Saturday night, we can leave late Friday and be back before Monday.”

That’ll be the shortest visit I’ve ever done.

“Right,” she said brightly. Harry took her left hand and rubbed his thumb across her bare ring finger before lifting it and pressing it with his lips. The skin burned where he touched her, as if she had been branded.

“I’ll send across some details later and see you soon.” His silky voice was enough to make any woman swoon. His face looked like it had been expertly carved out of rock. Chiseled, angular, irresistibly handsome, with deep-set eyes and a strong brow. Julie traced her fingers around his brows and down to his cheekbones.

“Do you….” Julie hesitated. She was going to invite him in, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Not only did her cat not like men and would hiss and launch a claw attack without hesitation, but she had emptied the entire contents of her wardrobe into her living room. She didn’t want to bring Harry in to see that.

Harry made the decision easy. He pecked her on the cheek and pulled her in for a warm hug.

“I have to go,” he said softly, though he took her keys from her fumbling hands. He tried each one until the door finally clicked.

“Thanks again, it’s been a… magical evening,” Julie said with a sigh. She opened the front door and they both turned when a strange noise alerted her to stop moving. A hissing sound followed by the rush of stomping feet.

“What on Earth…?” Julie bent around Harry’s torso seeing the limousine sitting innocently in the rain. The loud hissing faded and the driver got out of the car. One of Harry’s security guards had dashed up the steps to join him, his face flushed and alarmed.

“I’m sorry, sir, it was just a kid. None of us had reason to suspect….” He trailed off before brandishing a piece of paper to Harry, who stood like stone holding the paper