THE DECEIVED WIFE

CHAPTER FIVE.

"What's that?" Lisa curiously eyed the massive bag Rosie had slung over one shoulder the next day. Lisa watched her put it down next to the picnic hamper with a frown, thinking that the bag looked older and heavier than she was.

"Well..." Her tone, which matched the sheepish smile that had flitted over her lips, fascinated Lisa. She had a feeling Roseanne was going to say something insane again. "Coz it's our first date, you know?"

And because she had started rummaging through her enormous bag, Rosie missed the way the billionaire froze at her choice of words.

"I just want to be sure I have everything," she was saying while pulling out a blanket and then spreading it on the grass. "I want to be prepared." Kneeling down, she began to take the food and drinks out of the hamper, all of which she had singlehandedly prepared.

Lisa barely understood the rest of her words. Date. The foolish girl thought they were dating, that they were a permanent item now. Goddammit. Hadn't she told her they were going to take it day by day? So why the hell was Roseanne thinking they were dating now?

For God's sake, there had been women in her life he had fucked over a week without even knowing their last names. And yet here was Rosie, thinking they were dating after one kiss?

Looking up, Roseanne gave the billionaire a sunny smile, asking laughingly, "Why are you still standing, silly?" She took her hand without warning and tugged Lisa down.

Noting Lisa's stiff posture, she thought ruefully that maybe her first choice for their date was too ordinary for Lisa. "Is it your first time to go on a picnic date?"

"Yes." Lisa saw no reason to lie.

"I figured as much." She looked at Lisa in concern. "Do you want to go somewhere else? I'd be game with whatever, really—-"

"No. Of course not." Lisa forced herself to relax. "New experiences are always a good thing." She was just going to pretend Roseanne hadn't said anything about dating.

"If you're sure?" She gave Lisa a skeptical look.

Lisa was beginning to feel a little offended. "I'm not a snob."

She swallowed back a laugh. "Of course," she said quickly, even while remembering how Mrs. Not-A-Snob looked at her when she suggested they borrow bikes from the staff so they could cycle to the picnic grounds.

Lalisa Manoban did not do bikes, that look had said. Limousines, sports cars, Harley Davidson bikes – those were the only acceptable modes of trans. Bikes, especially borrowed and old ones, were totally out of the question.

Watching her shoulders shake as she silently unwrapped a sandwich, Lisa said pleasantly, "I hope you're not laughing at me."

Her fingers stilled, but her shoulders shook harder.

"And if this is all about me being a snob—-"

She could no longer keep it to herself, bursting into peals of laughter as she gasped, "B-but your t-tone. It's a-already s-snobbish—-"

Impertinent little blowfish, Lisa thought even as a reluctant grin stretched on her lips. Her laughter was infectious, and damn if the sound didn't turn Lisa on. It was like hearing sunlight make music, and after drowning in darkness in four long years, the sound was the most beautiful music to her ears.

Without a thought, Lisa hauled her to his lap, and as she gasped, Lisa caught her mouth in a hard, deep kiss. She gave rose no time to think, only allowed her to feel as her tongue swept in and laid siege to every inch of her mouth. Lisa sucked hard on her own tongue, and her blood surged hot and primitively at the way Roseanne whimpered and sank against her.