That One Time

  THAT ONE TIME

  By: Marian Tee

  Copyright 2013 by Streak Digital Publishing

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  23-year-old Ayah Chandler believes in love at first sight, and she should – since it only took that one time for her to fall head over heels for a man who looks like an angel but seduces like the devil.

  Billionaire Nic de Koningh grew up trusting no one but himself, but all it took was that one time with the free-spirited Instagram-loving Ayah to question everything he believes and doesn’t believe in.

  As they meet once more in the exotic urban paradise of Hong Kong, Nic and Ayah finally have a chance to discover the answer to the burning question in their hearts.

  Can love spring from a moment of connection or is it an illusion that will only scar them for eternity?

  BEFORE

  ~ One ~

  All the general overhead lights in the business section of the plane were dimmed, and the only sounds in the area were the quiet murmurs of the flight attendants in front of Nicolaas “Nic” de Koningh. His eyes were closed, but he was not asleep. Rather, he was pretending he was so.

  His bad mood over a bungled deal had been completely wiped away at the sight of the young woman sitting next to him, who was surreptitiously trying to reach the back seat pouch in front of him that contained magazines together with safety and hygiene paraphernalia for passengers.

  He had barely paid her attention when he took the seat next to her, his temper sorely tested then. Not only was his business in danger of losing a multimillion deal, but his family’s private jet had also broken down unexpectedly, forcing Nic to take the next available flight to Amsterdam from Miami.

  Nic had been ready to call security on the woman, her desperation evident as she twisted and struggled against her seatbelt, trying to reach for—

  The throw bag?

  What the hell?

  Seeing that all her frowning attention was on the curious object of her desire, he took a risk of having her find out he was awake by opening his eyes a little. He wanted to see what made that throw bag so special for her to try to take it.

  A portion of the throw bag peeked out of the pouch, and he could see that it had a unique design, one with those cute little Japanese dolls they called ‘kokeshi’.

  Nic recalled a tie-up between an accessory firm and Jaewon Airlines and wondered if this could be one of its results. If he had known such a tie up would make a business class passenger go to such lengths to try to steal one, Nic would have beaten Jaewon’s COO, Park Jin, in buying the company.

  “Shit.”

  The muttered curse had Nic’s gaze swerving back to the girl next to him, who had once again failed to swipe the throw bag out of the pouch.

  Feeling her gaze at him, he kept his eyelids closed and after half a minute, Nic felt her looking away and focusing on the throw bag again.

  He heard the sound of a seatbelt unclipping and felt the girl rise from her seat.

  Nic stirred, just to make her panic.

  “Shit!” Looking at her with a hooded glance, he caught sight of the girl crossing herself and had a hard time not smirking at that.

  He watched her take a deep breath and then slowly, carefully, and quietly stretch her arm out, doing her best not to touch him in any way as she tried to reach for his throw bag—

  “Oomph!”

  Another passenger had shoved past her it seemed, and the next thing Nic knew she ended up face squashed down on—

  His cock.

  ****

  Oh my God.

  Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God—

  One moment, Ayah Chandler had been so close to getting that limited edition throw bag and the next thing she knew, she was falling face down onto the other passenger’s lap.

  Before she could fully digest what was happening, something hard suddenly pressed against her face. At first, she wondered hysterically if she had hit her face against a concealed gun, but when the hard thing kept growing and pulsing, the truth eventually set in a few moments later.

  OH MY GOD!

  She shot up, face flaming, accidentally hitting the stranger’s chin with the back of her head.

  He muttered something in a foreign language – German? Russian? Dutch? – and though she did not understand it, Ayah knew it was sure to be an expletive.

  Ayah waited for him to speak, to ask what the heck she had been doing, but he did not, making her feel obliged to speak first. She reluctantly raised her gaze to him – and kept staring, her jaw dropping. She couldn’t help it.

  He was…

  An angel, she thought dumbly. Blond hair, blue eyes, and the most wickedly handsome face, the way he smirked at her making Ayah blush. He was an angel, all right, but the kind that sinned and made you want to sin with him.

  An angel that had been aroused by her face against his cock.

  No, no, no, Ayah thought wildly, mentally doing her best to shake the shockingly erotic thought away. She had never thought such a thing before but somehow, it was impossible not to, not when she remembered very vividly how—

  “Did you want this?”

  Startled, she realized that the beautiful stranger was dangling the throw bag in the air between them. Ayah frowned. It was like he was tempting her with a treat—and unfortunately for her, it was working.

  She really wanted that throw bag!

  Nic frowned back. It was the only way to keep himself from laughing out loud, with the way she was visibly struggling not to snatch the throw bag out of his fingers.

  He raised a brow at her, giving her the kind of look that only an arrogant billionaire heir like him could get away with. It was the kind of look that easily intimidated many people—

  She raised a brow back at him.

  This time, he laughed. “It is yours if you want it,” he said, his voice lowering to a tone of practiced seduction.

  Her eyes sparkled. “Really?”

  Nic blinked. Apparently, she really did want the throw bag – so much so, he did not even figure in the equation at all.

  She was so different, he mused as he gave her the throw bag and she carefully took it from him. He waited to see what she would do with it, but she just smoothed it lovingly with her fingers before placing it on her lap.

  “Why did you not just ask for another one from the crew?” he questioned, truly curious.

  She shrugged, not wanting to let the guy know that she was too shy to do so.

  Realizing that she was not going to answer, he asked her another question. “What are you going to do with it?”

  Ayah shrugged once again, pressing her lips together. He looked like some kind of powerful businessman. He would never understand her fascination with travel souvenirs.

  The stranger nodded at her, as if understanding and respecting her privacy. In a little while, she sensed him falling asleep. She sneaked a look at him. His eyes were closed now.

  She took her phone out as quietly as she could and relaxed when he still didn’t stir in his seat. He must be so tired, she thought as she placed her phone on the table and started taking out more stuff from her bag – all airline souvenirs.

  She started arranging them artfully on the table – unused napkins, plastic-wrapped utensils, peanut bags, tickets, and of course the limited edition throw bag that her friends would surely find cute.

  When she was satisfied with the arrangement – everything was arranged to form the shape of a heart – Ay
ah picked up her phone again and clicked on the Instagram icon. Making sure that her camera was set to silent, she focused on the arrangement, waiting for the camera to zoom—

  “You wanted it for a photo?”

  His voice had her jumping, Ayah’s knees bumping the table and sending everything in a disarray.

  He had an indolent smile on his face when she turned to him. Ayah gasped. “You did that deliberately!”

  He had the gall to laugh softly at her accusation. “Yes. I did. I wanted to know what you were planning to do with the throw bag.”

  “You could’ve asked.”

  “I did.”

  Oh, right, he had. She frowned at him for verbally setting her up like that.

  The look she sent Nic only made him more inclined to laugh. He could not recall the last time he had been this…amused. With the wealth and power at his disposal, it was easy for Nic to find entertainment. But genuine amusement?

  Not in such a long time, he realized, a little disconcerted now. He looked at the woman closely, taking his time to do so now that she was again rearranging the stuff on the table with painstaking care. She was pretty but not stunningly so – light brown hair, dark green eyes, and fair skin that never seemed to have been touched by the sun. Small and curvy too, he thought, his gaze focusing on the way her white silk blouse emphasized her ample chest.

  He returned his attention to what she was doing. “What is it for?”

  Knowing there was no point hiding the truth now, she explained, “It’s a tradition my mom started. She loved collecting souvenirs and made scrapbooks of it. So I’m just continuing the tradition – but not real scrapbooks. Just digital ones.”

  “Souvenirs? Aren’t those supposed to be bought?”

  Her smile was amused and mysterious at the same time. He didn’t know why, but that smile made his body react, his cock hardening. It was as if she knew something he didn’t and he would be fucking happy – literally – if he found out what that something was.

  “That’s only when you can afford them,” she finally said, her smile widening when he only continued to look at her, his gaze arrogantly demanding an answer. “When you don’t, then you have to make do with this.”

  “Are you seriously expecting me to believe that you cannot afford to buy souvenirs?” he scoffed.

  “Yes, I seriously am. I’m on an all-expenses paid trip. This is my first time to fly business class.” He looked like he did not believe her still and so she took out her papers from her bag and handed it to him. “See?”

  Nic skimmed it, his memory immediately taking in the most important details. Ayah Chambers. 23. Single. Florida, United States. After, he confirmed what she had said. She was indeed the lucky winner of an all-expense paid trip to Europe – the first prize in a grocery draw.

  She was also the first person Nic knew to actually join such a contest, the kind of woman that – if not for fate – he would never have gotten to know. If he was a good man, the best thing he could do was ignore her from hereon.

  She asked with a smile, “Believe me now?”

  He handed the papers back to her, their fingers brushing against each other, resulting in electricity zapping their skins with just the barest touch.

  Nic watched her eyes widen, confusion clear in her gaze as she looked down at their now separated fingers, as if not understanding why such a thing had happened. Her innocence tempted him, in a way that he could not remember being tempted for so long. It was like knowing he was about to have sex for the first time and he could not wait for it to happen.

  She looked up, her mouth parted slightly.

  He decided then and there that he was not a good man.

  “Yes,” Nic answered gravely. “I believe you now.”

  Ayah choked out a laugh at his tone. “Now I know you’re making fun of me.” And he was but not insultingly so. She went back to rearranging the souvenirs on her table and, sensing his gaze on her, she asked him, “Do you have an IG account?”

  “IG?”

  “Instagram?”

  He tried not to sound disdainful as he said, “I’m afraid not.”

  She looked up at that, giving him a knowing look that just made Nic even more aroused. That look made Nic imagine impaling her with his cock, and him giving her a knowing look next. What can you say now, his burning eyes would ask. If you think you know everything, you don’t. My cock will show you what you don’t know and I can only teach you—

  “…and you can link it to your Facebook and Twitter account, too,” she was saying helpfully.

  Nic forced himself to concentrate on what she was saying.

  “Social media marketing is important in every industry, you know,” she told him. “So even if it doesn’t fit your ‘macho’ profile, you should really reconsider having an IG account.”

  He gave her a solemn nod. “I will.”

  She grinned. “I know you won’t.”

  He shrugged.

  Laughing, she returned her attention to the souvenirs. He continued looking at her silently, and she did her best not to be flustered. No one had ever studied her this long or this intently and it was seriously making her feel awkward.

  Finally, when she couldn’t stand it, she mumbled, “What is it?”

  He was finally getting to her.

  Nic shook his head slightly, a little incredulous that for the first time in his life he found himself pursuing a woman’s attention and, worse, competing against airline products for it.

  If his favorite cousin Farica was here, she would have been laughing her head off and telling him he deserved it. She had always told him he took himself too seriously, and with this girl, Nic was beginning to realize that it just might be true.

  His gaze on her face, which was clearly flushed with embarrassment, he said bluntly, “You fascinate me.”

  Ayah shook her head jerkily. “I’m not fascinating.” She kept her gaze trained on the souvenirs.

  “Yes,” he countered silkily, “you are.” And before she could answer, he did them both a favor. He closed the distance between them, tipped her chin up, and kissed her.

  Oooooooooh. She gasped against his mouth, but the sound was swallowed by his burningly hot kiss. Did he know this was her first ever kiss? Would it matter? Should it matter?

  His lips were soft, firm, hot, and everything she never dreamt about but should have. Men had never been a large part of her life, but with this kiss Ayah knew she would never look at men the same way again. Always she would remember this kiss, always she would compare, and always men would fail when pitted against him.

  She broke away, her hands on his chest. “I don’t even know your name!” She couldn’t believe she had let a nameless stranger kiss her like that!

  Looking at him, with the way passion had turned his eyes into blue fire, Ayah realized with shock that she still wanted him to kiss her, name or no name.

  Seeing that she was a hair’s breadth away from panicking, he said, “My name is Luuk.” It was not. “Luuk Aafjes.” That was the name of their family home’s head gardener, and he said it without thinking, years of having a cynical attitude towards women too ingrained in him to ignore. Ayah Chandler might look innocent, but she was not someone he truly knew and thus she was not to be trusted.

  “Luuk.”

  Something in him growled. He did not like hearing another man’s name on her lips – even if she thought it was his. He shook his head at her. “Do not call me that.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “Call me…lieverd.” At the questioning look in her eyes, he said, “I’m Dutch.”

  “And…lieverd…” She stumbled over its pronunciation. “What does it mean?”

  He cupped her face, sucking on her lower lip, making her gasp. She appeared dazed, making him smile as he pulled away. “It means…”

  “It means?” she repeated after him in a whisper, looking at him like he was about to give her the keys to the universe.

  “It means…” Behind her,
most of the passengers within his line of sight were asleep but those awake had their fascinated gazes on them, doing their best to see what they were doing despite the dim lighting of the plane.

  Ayah probably didn’t know they were being watched. He did – but he did not care. Looking down on her, Nic ran his knuckles down her soft cheek, a primal sense of satisfaction heating his body at the way she trembled at his touch. “It means…”

  She drew her breath in, never imagining a voice could be that sexy.

  He whispered, “Darling.” He said it in such a way that it became a dirty word, a forbidden word, a word that could only belong to both of them.

  He bent forward, nuzzling her cheek, his lips moving to the side. She shivered as he nuzzled her ear just before he said softly, “Lieverd.”

  Ayah’s body fell onto him at the sound. “Lieverd,” she whispered back, biting her lip to keep herself from screaming as he bit her ear lightly before his tongue traced her outer ear. “Lieverd.” She moaned it softly as his lips moved back to her neck.

  Without breaking away, he took the plastic wrapped blanket from under the seat, tore the package open, then whipped it over Ayah. She blinked at him.

  He smiled, devilishly.

  There was a wicked mysterious gleam in his pretty blue eyes, but before she could figure out what that meant – or before she could even figure out how to think with him looking at her like that – he was kissing her again, one hand moving under the blanket at the same time.

  It really was like the first time he had sex – or even the first time he had made out with a girl, groping in the dark, surrounded by people and trying not to let anyone know that he was about to get off.

  Ayah’s body was incredibly soft, her curves extraordinary. He caressed her breasts, familiarizing himself with its weight and shape. Releasing her mouth, he looked at her, wanting to see her expression as he tweaked her nipples.

  Her eyes went wide at the touch, and her lips parted when he pinched them.

  Laughing softly, Nic immediately caught her unexpected moan into his kiss. “Sssh, lieverd. There are still those awake.” He lifted his head. “Understand?”