ONE NIGHT STAND (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) Read online

  Charlotte put on a mid-length, sea-blue dress with three-quarter-length, lace sleeves, a corset tie in the back, and a V-shaped neckline. She slipped her delicate feet into black flats—it was after Labor Day, so no white—then headed out of her room and through the mansion on the outskirts of the city.

  Her mother was in the middle of her yoga regimen when Charlotte appeared and took the cup of steaming coffee Milly offered before she left them to talk in private.

  “Mother, I think if you stay in that pose any longer, you will be stuck, and then what will I tell everyone?”

  Her mother, Victoria, laughed as she straightened and lifted her arms skyward. “Almost finished, my sweet. I need to do my breathing.”

  “I think your breathing is just fine,” she replied. Under her breath, she whispered, “Other things might need improving.”

  She plopped two sugar cubes into her coffee followed by a hefty amount of creamer. Absently, she stirred it as she listened to her mother’s deep inhales and loud exhales. She did it on purpose, just to annoy her daughter. Charlotte wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with her mother lately, but something was changing. There were days she would sit and stare out the windows of the sunroom. And only last week, Charlotte had found her staring at a portrait of her late husband, muttering something under her breath. Very peculiar.

  “There, all finished,” Victoria said as she patted her sweaty neck with a towel and sat down at the large metal table with Charlotte. “Now then, I know you said no plans for tonight, but being your mother, I completely ignored your request and have made arrangements anyway.”

  Charlotte stopped stirring her coffee and stared at her mother, wide-eyed. “Why would you do that? I specifically asked you not to.”

  “Yes, which is why I had to.”

  “Unbelievable. Why don’t you ever listen to me?”

  “I am not going to let my daughter’s birthday go uncelebrated because she feels the need to hide from the world. Not that I would know why. You don’t speak with me on such matters anymore.”

  Charlotte set her mug down and straightened the bottom of her dress over her crossed legs. “It’s nothing personal. I simply… I don’t know. I have nothing to talk about.”

  “You hardly leave the house anymore.”

  “I don’t have a need to unless it’s with Helen and Prudence.” She certainly had no boyfriend in her life at the moment. She sighed at the thought of her best friend, the only man she knew at the moment—but that’s all he was. A friend.

  “I guess I can’t really blame you. It’s not like I leave the house, either. Most of my communications are through the computer nowadays. All this new technology makes things so much simpler to take care of, leaving me free to enjoy other activities.”

  Charlotte raised a perfectly shaped brow. “Like yoga? Is that really how you’re going to spend your days now?”

  She wasn’t even sure what was bothering her, though perhaps it had something to do with the way her mother had been acting. Was she dating someone, maybe? Charlotte was old enough to understand. Her father had died over ten years ago, and she would be more than happy to see her mother move on.

  “I think it’s time we start discussing your future.”

  “Are you planning on kicking me out of the mansion?”

  Her mother smiled. “No, that is not what I mean.”

  “Then I see nothing to discuss.”

  “Charlotte, you have to find something to do with your life. The time has certainly come for you to find a man to settle down with. I would like grandchildren eventually, you know.”

  She stared long and hard at her mother. “Hard to do when all the men I seem to find are dull and rude once I get to know them.”

  Her mother sighed dramatically, a sound that used to be followed by her father’s laughter at his wife’s habits. He and her mother had stayed together because of their opposite natures, the perfect high society couple. They had been powerful and strong, able to make waves and get things done. Then he died, her mother had lost her other half, and Charlotte was left with a mother who, every year, had steadily changed.

  “I just think it’s high time you plan your future.”

  “I have, Mother. The right man will come along when the time is right. For now, I’m content with my life.”

  Victoria shook her head as she watched her daughter closely. “That’s what worries me.”

  “Do you want me to go speed dating or something? I’m sure the ladies would love to gossip about that.”

  “I don’t,” Victoria said and reached across the table for her daughter’s hands. “All I want is for you to get out from under your father’s shadow. He’s not here anymore. If you want to do something with your life besides what he planned, you have my blessing.”

  She had been totally focused on following in her father’s footsteps lately and carrying on the legacy of their name. Charlotte nodded but had nothing to say on the matter. “So this party you planned without my permission, what is it exactly?”

  “Oh, nothing big at all, just a few friends—your friends. Quin, of course, and a few others.”

  Quin. Charlotte fought the urge to sigh. That poor young man, her best friend. He’d been her friend for as long as she could remember, always there for her when she needed him. And he was just as rich as she was. They’d suffered through the turmoil of growing up waited on hand and foot and having their every move watched to ensure they grew up to be proper adults in society. But Charlotte knew there was more than Quin being her friend. She had known since her mother started dropping hints here and there. Why she just wouldn’t come right out and say it, Charlotte hadn’t the faintest idea.

  But, until that moment came, she would act like she didn’t suspect a thing.

  “I guess I will make an appearance.”

  Her mother grinned. “Good. Dinner is at six as always, drinks at four. It will be good for you, I promise. Oh, and then tomorrow, we have a function to attend.”

  “Another one? For whom?”

  “Quin’s family, funnily enough.”

  Charlotte rolled her eyes. “What are they celebrating? Another merger?”

  “I’m not exactly sure, but I hear it is hopefully going to be big news depending on the outcome of a final question.” Her mother stood, kissed the top of her head, and disappeared inside the house.

  Alone on the patio, Charlotte watched the storm clouds move in once again as she finished her coffee. Milly came outside at the first sign of lightning and told her she'd better hurry on inside before she ruined her dress. Usually, Charlotte wouldn't have been worried about it, but her mother’s words bugged her more than they should have. Aimlessly, she wandered around the mansion as rain pelted the windows. At the portrait of her father, she stopped and stared up at the man.

  “Father, I think Mother’s losing it,” she whispered when she was sure no one was around. It was a habit she had as of late, needing to speak to someone who had once been as sane as she was. “What am I supposed to do if she suddenly goes off the deep end?”

  Charlotte knew her mother had done nothing but stay strong and keep it together for her daughter when her father, William, had passed away from a sudden heart attack. She only remembered seeing her mother cry once and admired how proper and pristine the woman had been, even in the face of such grief. What if that was all coming to an end? There was something bubbling under the surface of her mother’s perfect image that was slipping away. If anything happened to her mother, she wasn’t sure what she’d do.

  But she wasn’t as worried about that as she was about the party.

  Charlotte smiled as she thought of her two friends, Prudence and Helen, hoping they would turn up. She headed to her study—once her father’s—and checked her e-mails and accounts for the local orphanages that she helped establish and now ran. Hours ticked by and, before she realized it, it was nearing four o’clock. Smells of food being prepped dragged her
from the computer, and she hurried upstairs to change into something more appropriate for cocktail hour.

  She had barely slipped into a black, tight-fitting dress with a lace overlay when her cell went off.

  “Helen, please tell me you’re going to make it,” she said as she struggled to zip her dress. “I can’t deal with mother’s friends by myself tonight. And Quin. He’s been very clingy of late.”

  “Will you stop talking and look out your damn window?” Helen laughed.

  Charlotte hurried to her window and stared down. Helen and Prudence leaned against the side of a black limo, waving at her. “Uh… What are you doing?”

  “Open your window.”

  “What—why?”

  Prudence took the cell and grinned. “Because we’re kidnapping you!”

  “I can’t! The party and the guests—”

  “Charlotte, really? It’s your twenty-fifth birthday, and you’ve never been to a bar, so we’re taking you to one. Get your lacy butt out the window and down here right now, or I’ll climb up there and get you myself,” Prudence threatened.

  Everything in her screamed to hang up the cell. What would her father think? She paused and thought about her life lately and how she’d been the perfect daughter for so long. She hadn’t wanted a party in the first place, so what was the harm if she stepped out for a bit? She’d turn up eventually.

  She hung up and hurried back into her room, snatching her black clutch, strappy heels, and a sweater. She went back to the window and threw it open.

  “Hurry up,” Helen called out as she waved.

  Charlotte took a deep breath then tossed everything out the window for them to catch. Prudence cursed as Helen laughed when a heel conked her in the head. Charlotte joined her as she climbed quickly down the trellis that ran up the side of the house. When she was little, she used to climb it up to the roof to look at the stars.

  “Take me to a bar!” she exclaimed when she touched ground.

  “Did I say bar? I meant strip club, then maybe a bar.”

  Charlotte’s smile fell, but it was too late to turn back. Helen and Prudence each grabbed an arm and shoved her into the limo.

  Chapter 3

  There was glitter everywhere, and Charlotte was still trying to process what the hell had just happened. She was tipsy and had just received a lap dance from a very naked, very muscular man. The first time she’d ever seen a… well… the whole deal.

  “Your face!” Helen laughed as she poured them each another glass of champagne as they sat in the back of the limo once more. “I wish I could have taken pictures.”

  “So you’ve never seen one before? Like ever?”

  “It’s not like I sit in my room and watch porn,” Charlotte muttered. She grinned crookedly at the memory of his body so close to hers. Warmth started to grow between her legs, and she quickly clamped them tightly shut. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe I did that!”

  Prudence and Helen exchanged a glance. “We know! It was great,” the first said as she let down her long, black hair and fluffed it. “Bar next, then?”

  “We’re not heading home?” Charlotte wasn’t sure what she was feeling now, but it was definitely different. Needy, maybe? She needed something, but she wasn’t sure what her body was trying to tell her.

  “Wait, if you’ve never seen one… oh, Lord, Charlotte, are you still a virgin?” Helen nearly shrieked the question.

  Charlotte’s face was on fire. She was glad the partition between them and the driver was up, though she was pretty sure he’d heard it anyway. “Do I have to answer that?”

  “You are! This night is not ending yet, no way in hell,” Prudence said and knocked on the partition. It lowered a bit, and she told the driver to take them to a local, high-end bar. “You’ll love it, and, with luck, we’ll find you a man to get laid tonight.”

  “What? Oh no, I’m not going to have a one-night stand with some random guy!”

  “Why the hell not? Your life is passing you by, woman, and we, as your friends, cannot sit back and watch you miss out on the glorious thing called a one-night stand.”

  Charlotte stared at Helen, who was a bit tipsy as well, like she’d lost her mind. They were on their third bottle of champagne, but Charlotte knew her friends could hold their liquor. She’d never been much of a partier and was too much like her father to do anything crazy.

  “I don’t know,” she said, but that feeling in her gut grew at the thought of a naked man. In bed. With her. She felt her face flush again as her heart pounded in her chest. She sat for a long time, picturing what tonight could be, until Prudence poked her in the arm. “Ouch… What?”

  “So you’re telling me, after all the times you and Quin have hung out together, you never… experimented?”

  “Why would they? Quin is too much of a goody-goody to do that,” Helen said and clapped when the limo slowed to a stop. “We’re here!”

  Charlotte watched them get out of the limo. She checked her cell again: another three messages from her mother and two more from Quin. She had texted her mother to tell her who she was with, but that, apparently, wasn’t a good enough answer. Her mother was pissed, or at least as pissed as a high society woman would allow herself to be.

  “You coming or what, birthday girl?” Helen called.

  “Yes, I’m coming,” Charlotte said. She turned her cell off and followed her friends into the club.

  ***

  Braydon held his glass of whiskey tightly in his hand as he eyed the club around him. Terrance was there somewhere, flirting with the girls, leaving Braydon to brood on his own in the corner. He’d kept an eye out for that perfect woman, but none seemed very interesting so far. He leaned against the far wall and watched the drunken, rich idiots dance and mingle on the floor. He should just go home, but Terrance would be pissed if he left him like that, mostly because Braydon was his ride. The guy needed to get his own damn car and be done with it. Hell, Braydon had even offered to buy him one, but he wouldn’t accept charity.

  They were alike that way—friends from the streets, both finally catching lucky breaks, though Braydon had taken a very different path to get where he was.

  “Are you seriously just going to stand there all night with that look on your face?” Braydon slid Terrance a glance but didn’t say anything. “Fine, fine, be that way. If you’re really going to let a visit from your damn mom get to you this badly—”

  “I’m not,” he snapped as his friend grinned. “I just… She’s a pain in my ass, that’s all.”

  “Yeah, aren’t most moms?”

  “You always complain about yours, too.”

  “But mine doesn’t show up with strange invitations to her other kid’s engagement parties. Only your mom does shit like that.” He took a long swig of his beer and stared around the dance floor, the lights reflecting off the pale blue shirt that emphasized his broad chest. Terrance was a ladies’ man, and he knew it.

  So did Braydon. “How many have you kissed tonight?”

  Terrance laughed. “More than you.”

  “That’s not saying much.”

  Terrance gave him a hard nudge in the side. “Go out there and mingle, damn it. Maybe you’ll find a date to that thing tomorrow.”

  “You’re coming, right?”

  “Sadly, I will be. Don’t want to miss a chance of obtaining more donations for the orphanages. Our money’s been up, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  Braydon nodded and said he’d be sure to increase his donation again this coming winter. “Kids are going to need heat and warm blankets.”

  “Always do, man, they always do,” Terrance murmured.

  Both men fell silent as their minds wandered back to those hard times on the streets. Somehow they’d managed to survive, but it hadn’t been easy. Terrance had chosen a better, safer path to walk in order to stay alive, while Braydon had stumbled upon old family connections and fallen in with a crowd he never should ha
ve trusted. It had been stupid, but Braydon couldn’t worry about that. What was done was done, and for the past five years, things had worked out for the best.

  A small group of women walked by, all waving and smiling at Terrance. He blew them kisses and laughed until he saw Braydon roll his eyes.

  “What is it about you, man?”’

  “They like the cocoa skin.” Terrance grinned. “Go flirt and lighten up. If you don’t have a girl at your side by the time I get back, I’m setting your ass up with someone.” He slung back some more of his beer and followed the women.

  Braydon took his lead, shot back the rest of his whiskey, and headed to the bar for another. It was going to be a long freaking night.

  ***

  Charlotte sipped her martini, her leg twitching up and down as Helen and Prudence rated the guys in the club around them. They’d spent the last hour trying to find a suitable one for Charlotte to basically throw herself at and see what happened.

  “What about him?” Helen asked as she took another shot of tequila.

  “No, too short, and look at that watch. It’s gotta be fake.”

  “Fine, fine—what about him?”

  Charlotte choked on her drink as she followed her friend’s pointing finger. “He’s wearing makeup. I can see it from here! No, absolutely not.”

  “You can’t be so picky,” Helen muttered as she narrowed her gaze, looking for her next possible target. “I mean, really, just find a guy who’s hot and go with it.”

  But Charlotte’s stomach had spent the last hour getting more and more tangled up as she thought about what tonight might bring. Going home with a strange man was not exactly on top of her list of things to do. That, and her purse kept vibrating. She’d felt guilty after turning it off and had turned it back on so her mother’s only line of communication to yell at her through was open. Maybe she’d get it all out of her system by the time Charlotte got home.