Читать книгу Secrets Of The Night: A Case of Kiss and Tell - Katherine Garbera, Ann Major, Ann Major - Страница 10

Nichole wasn’t a woman who ever veered from a path once she stepped on it. She’d decided to be a journalist and pursued it wholeheartedly. Not just in the workplace, but in her personal life. She’d made choices that kept her single and free to be the workaholic she was today.

She loved her life and didn’t regret any of her decisions. But now … she was tempted to make a big change. The kind of change she knew could potentially harm her and her career. She had to be very certain if she agreed to this arrangement with Conner that no one ever knew the details. And she had to be sure she could get her story and keep herself from falling for him.

A tall order. Not impossible exactly, but not easy, either. She just needed time to think and that was out of the question while she was with Conner.

“I can see that your method of negotiating is one of squeezing water from a stone, but I am not going to be pushed into accepting your position as the only one. I know that we can come to terms that will be suitable to both of us.”

He walked back around his desk and took his seat again. “I’ve put all my cards on the table. I’m not going to budge.”

“I don’t see why not. I’m the one with everything to lose,” she said, nibbling her lower lip. She was losing him and she didn’t want to.

“Come on, you must see that talking about my personal life in any way isn’t easy for me,” he said.

She stared at him, feeling a pang of sympathy, remembering coverage of him as a teenager, and she started to soften toward him. But then she glanced up and met his gaze with her own and realized that he was playing her.

“That’s not going to work. You’re only going to let me see the side of you that you’re comfortable with. We both know that you play your cards close to your chest.”

“I do. And that’s not going to change. Yet, you’re an anomaly. I haven’t wanted a woman as much as you in a long time, but that could be a danger in itself. I’ve made my offer and I’m not backing down. If you walk away, I’ll probably always have a wistful what-if feeling toward you, but that’s life.”

She walked over to his desk, perching on the edge of it right next to where he was seated. Though he’d been glib and tried to play her, she knew that he was vulnerable as far as his father was concerned. He didn’t want to answer any questions about the past, but she was already seeing how it had defined him.

“If I agree to keep the personal questions to a minimum and just use my own observations …”

“No.”

“Conner, you have to give a little.”

“I already have,” he said, reaching over to put his hand on her thigh.

He rubbed one long finger over the inside of her thigh, tracing a pattern that made sensations flow up her leg to the very core of her. She wanted this man. And all the justification she was trying desperately to find wasn’t going to make a bit of difference. She simply wanted to stay. And that was the bottom line.

She could tell herself that she was after the story of a lifetime, but she knew her motivation was rooted in something much more primal.

“I am not going to write something that is scandal-ridden or sensationalized. I think that a lot of people are struggling with finding a mate in today’s society, and I’d really like your take on that.”

His hand skimmed down her thigh to her knee. She’d had no idea that it could be that sensitive. His touch was warm and brought her an intense awareness each time he moved his hand over her. She stood up and stepped away from him.

“I don’t know that you are going to answer any of my questions.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Tell me something, give me a preview of what kind of story I’ll be getting so I know I’m not just giving in to your will at my own peril.”

He arched one eyebrow at her. “Your peril? That sounds very Victorian and just a tad melodramatic.”

“Dang, I was going for more than a tad,” she said with a grin. “But seriously …”

“Seriously,” he said. “I decided to keep the matchmaking company for two reasons. The first is because it makes me a lot of money. And that’s really the only reason that counts. You can’t be a businessman in this economy and not give serious consideration to something that is keeping you solvent.”

“I agree,” she said. This was the kind of information she wanted. He was talking about matchmaking as if it were a widget being made in a factory, and to him it was. “What was your second reason?”

He leaned back in his leather chair and steepled his fingers over his chest. “I want to use it as a vetting tool for my friends. One of my cousins was the target of a gold digger and I hated what she did to him. I didn’t want to see anyone else in that situation. Given my own past with my father and the secrets that people keep in relationships, I think having a firm like Matchmakers, Inc. involved in setting up dates is the safest way for people to meet.”

She had gotten more from him than she had expected. “That is so cynical. A lot of people meet without doing a background check or having their likes and dislikes tallied and are actually happy with each other.”

“I’m willing to bet that they aren’t in my socioeconomic bracket. And I’m not saying that to be snooty. There is a different set of variables when you are talking about old money and family fortunes.”

“Tell me more about that,” she said.

“I’m afraid that’s where your sneak peek ends,” he said. “If you want any more material for your story, then you’re going to have to agree to be my mistress.”

She swallowed hard. He had given her just enough to make her want to ask more questions. Her instincts had been right in pursuing him. Conner had the potential to be a career-changing interview.

“What does being your mistress involve?” she asked.

Conner had barely given her any insights that he hadn’t shared with friends over the years and was relieved to see that it was enough for her. He understood what she wanted from him and he knew that there were lines he’d always been afraid to cross. Lines that he didn’t want to chance letting her know existed because Nichole had proven this morning in his office that she was more than equal to him.

She was willing to sacrifice to get the story and he knew that being in his bed wasn’t exactly a hardship. But he also knew that because he’d pushed her into this position he was asking her to do something that was hard for her.

“Being my mistress will involve a lot of pleasure,” he said.

She flushed. “I’m not asking for a rundown on what kind of sexual pleasures you will be pursuing with me. I mean, from a logistical standpoint, I have no idea what makes a woman a mistress.”

He had no idea, either. He’d never had a mistress before, though his friend, Alexander Montrose, did all the time. Alexander believed that money was at the root of all relationships and the only way to manage relationships was to make them business deals.

“You will move into my penthouse apartment here in the city and be available to me whenever I want you.”

“I have my own place and a job.”

“For the duration of our arrangement I’d want you to live with me. As you know, I’m the busy CEO of a huge multinational conglomerate, so even though I said you’d be available whenever I want you, we’re not talking every hour of the day. Though I think I would want to have you to myself for the first twenty-four hours so I can sate the hunger that has been riding me since I first laid eyes on you.”

His words were nothing less than the truth. He had to give Alexander props for the mistress thing. It was so much easier than dating. No coy games or subtleties—just full-on lust. He liked it. He didn’t expect to be keeping mistresses full-time in the future, but the more he thought about the idea, the more he liked it.

“I want you, too. What else?”

“I will pay your bills. I might need you to accompany me to a few social events, but given that you are writing an article about me perhaps we should keep that to a minimum?”

“Why? Reporters follow their subjects all the time,” she said. “But if I agree to this, I don’t want anyone to ever know about our arrangement. I think moving into your place would be a bad idea. There will be doormen and maids who will know I’ve stayed there.”

“What’s the alternative?”

“You can come to my house,” she said.

“You have neighbors, right? The risk of discovery is just as great. Perhaps you should just disclose that we are dating and let the cards fall where they may after that.”

“I’d have to ask my boss,” she said. “Actually, that sounds like the best option. Most people won’t guess that we have any other arrangement.”

“Exactly. A win-win. You get your story, I get your body and we both leave happy.”

She tipped her head to the side, staring at him askance. “Happy?”

“I think so,” he said. And he’d be in control of the article. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of this before.

“Okay, so I want two different stories from you. The first is strictly about the dating industry and your involvement with the venture. I’ll include the stuff you mentioned earlier about vetting gold diggers, that sort of thing.”

“Fine. That’s no problem at all,” he said, glancing at his calendar to see what would have to be moved so he could spend the rest of the day with Nichole. In her arms. It looked like the mistress deal was in the bag.

“The second story will be about the effect your father’s betrayal has had on your own dating habits and maybe your sister’s. I think it’s interesting that she is the home guru yet single.”

“No.”

“No? To what part?” she asked.

“All of it. I’m not talking about my father. I’m certainly not talking about Jane.”

“I want two stories,” she said.

“I will not talk about my private life,” he said. “There’s no merit to it other than gossip and you said you weren’t that type of reporter.”

“I’m not. I think it’s a human-interest story. There are readers out there who want to know what happened to you. They watched you grow up—”

“Too bad. I’m afraid that’s a deal breaker for me,” he said.

She retreated around the desk, back to the guest chair. He could tell her mind was going one hundred miles an hour trying to come up with something else to tempt him. But he knew the mistress deal was over. He wasn’t going to talk about his father—ever.

He never had and never wanted to. His father was nothing more than part of a past that Conner had already forgotten. “I think we’re through here.”

“Are we?” she asked. “I’m willing to settle for a different type of story.”

“The one on dating?” he asked.

“Definitely, but also one on you. Maybe as a corporate raider,” she said. “You have done some amazing things with failing companies.”

“Yes, I have. But that type of article is more suited to the business pages than the lifestyle section that you write for,” he said.

She sighed.

“What’s your decision, Nichole? Will you be satisfied with the one article from me in exchange for being my mistress?” he asked.

At this point it was all down to her. He’d live up to his end of the bargain, but he knew there were lines that he’d never allow her to cross. And seeing the way she interviewed him he knew that he’d have to be careful not to reveal too much. He also knew that he was playing a dangerous game by bringing her into his home because reporters were never really off the record.

She wouldn’t be satisfied with just one interview with him and one article. But she knew there was more than one way to get what she wanted. And for now it seemed that she should retreat and give this some thought.

It was easy to say that it didn’t matter to her if she slept with Conner in exchange for the information she needed. She was a sophisticated, new-millennium woman, but the truth of the matter was she was a bit old-fashioned. And though she often told her friends that she liked to keep her personal life light, so it didn’t interfere with her professional life, she knew that deep inside she was afraid to let anyone too close to her.

Living with Conner, even for only a month, would jeopardize that. She was afraid that once she saw what she’d been missing all these years, she might want more.

“I have to think this over,” she said. “It’s not a decision I can make easily.”

“I can respect that,” he said. “To be honest, I didn’t expect you to agree to it.”

“Then why did you make the offer?” she asked.

He shrugged. “There’s something about you that brings out impulsive instincts.”

“I feel the same way about you,” she said. He was different than other men. It wasn’t just the wealth and the upbringing that he’d had. It wasn’t just that she thought she’d known him from the background research she’d done. It was that she’d been surprised by how different he was than she’d expected.

He gave her a half smile that she was coming to realize was his only way of smiling. He didn’t give much away when it came to emotions. He’d admitted to wanting her, but that was lust and she suspected he’d put it down to chemistry. But his real feelings he kept buttoned up.

She glanced at her watch, surprised that she’d taken up thirty minutes of his time. It felt like she’d just arrived. That should be another warning to her. She wasn’t herself around him.

“I should be going. I’ll get back to you in a few days to let you know my decision.”

He stood up and came around his desk, holding his hand out to her. She took it in hers, realizing that although they’d kissed they’d never shook hands. Unsurprisingly, his handshake was firm, conveying confidence.

But it also made her want more. She wanted him to touch her as he had earlier on her leg. She couldn’t believe she was going to walk out the door when she wanted him as badly as she did.

“Are you sure I can’t change your mind?” he asked as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her knuckles.

“No, I’m not at all sure. But this seems like the kind of thing I really need to think about,” she said.

“Thinking is going to overcomplicate it. No one has to know what’s between us. How is it any different than a relationship?”

“The agreement. We’d both know that we aren’t just dating,” she said.

“It’s more of a commitment than most relationships.”

“Most of yours?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“How many dates do you usually have?” she asked. Thinking that she wanted to know personally, but also testing her theory that his father had damaged some relationship skills in Conner.

“Two. You?” he asked.

“Um … about the same. I tend to seek out men who aren’t looking for anything long term.”

“Why?” He still held her, his thumb making those maddening circles on the back of her hand.

“My career. I don’t want anything to derail it.”

“Interesting that you are going to walk away from me and the interview that could rocket your career to the next level,” he said.

“It is interesting,” she said. “But I’m not sure that we’d be okay even if my boss knew we were dating. I can’t take a chance of losing everything that I’ve worked so hard for.”

She pulled her hand away. “I … would you reconsider the one-kiss-to-one-question ratio?”

“Not for the long term,” he said.

She arched her eyebrow at him. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t want you to walk out that door without having one last kiss with you,” he said. “I know that once you get back to your office and have time to mull my offer over—you’ll more than likely decide I’m not worth the risk.”

She suspected by the way he’d worded it that he’d heard that at some time in his past. Was it only his father’s secret family that had soured Conner on relationships or was there more to it?

“I doubt I’d ever think you weren’t worth the risk,” she said impulsively.

“You already do. Or you wouldn’t be leaving,” he said.

“Touché,” she said. She wanted so much more than what he’d offered her. She saw in him a man she could invest herself in. He was a mass of contradictions and she knew that she shouldn’t take a chance on him. Shouldn’t let him into her heart and mind, but she was afraid it was too late.

“So one last kiss,” she said at last.

“Yes,” he said, pulling her off balance and into his arms.

Her handbag fell to her feet as she put her hands on his shoulders and looked up into that bluer-than-blue gaze of his. She let herself get lost in his eyes. Forgot that she’d come here for business, but was going to leave with only pleasure.

It was worth it. This little forbidden delight that was Conner Macafee and his kisses.

She leaned up toward him as his mouth slowly descended to hers. He was taking his time, she realized. He didn’t want this to end, either. And that made her like him a little more than she already did.

She tipped her head to the side as his mouth moved over hers. His hands caressed her back before settling on her waist and drawing her ever closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and drew her closer so they were chest-to-chest. Her nipples hardened as his tongue traced the seam between her lips.

Just that little touch made everything in her body clench as she moistened in her core. Her hands clutched his shoulders as he deepened the kiss. It was demanding and passionate and most of all it said goodbye.