Читать книгу Australian Millionaires - Maxine Sullivan - Страница 13

The next day Kia would have loved to concentrate on the job at hand, but with everyone still on vacation, just being alone with Brant in the executive suite left her scarcely daring to breathe. It was the reason she’d insisted on working from her own office at the other end of the floor. Away from him. Away from temptation. And out of the sexual firing line.

He’d seen right through her, but she’d still held her head high when she told him she felt more comfortable at her own desk. It had been the truth, after all.

“Bring me the next twenty pages when you’ve finished them,” was all he’d said midafternoon, the glint in his eyes telling her that even a crucial project couldn’t surpass this attraction between them.

“Aye, aye, sir,” she’d snapped, spinning on her heels and leaving the room, but not before she’d seen the arrogance in his eyes. Okay, so he was the boss, but that didn’t mean he had to “boss” her about. It only made her madder, and ever since, her fingers had been flying across the keyboard, wanting to finish the twenty pages as soon as possible so she could march into his office and slam them down on the desk.

And that’s exactly what she did—in half the time it normally took. But to her amazement, when she got to his office, he was nowhere to be seen. The adrenaline that had given her fingers strength dissipated, leaving her drained and ludicrously disappointed. She sighed. The considerate thing for him to do would have been to tell her he was going out.

She placed the papers in the center of his desk and turned to go back to her office. A figure in the doorway made her jump. For a minute she thought it was Brant. Adjusting her eyes she realized it was Lynette Kelly.

Kia breathed in deeply, her heart not quite settling back into place. “Lynette, what are you doing here?”

Lynette blushed as she took a few steps into the office. “Oh, hello, Kia.”

She looked so nervous Kia felt sorry for her. “Can I help you?” she asked gently.

“Er … I need to see Phillip. I called him at home, but there was no answer. I thought he might be here.”

“I’m sorry. He’s not.” Lynette’s face fell and Kia spoke before thinking. “He’s gone home to Queensland for a couple of weeks.”

The other woman’s eyes widened. “Without you?”

Kia’s gaze darted away then back. “I had to stay here. To work.”

“Oh.” Her shoulders slumped. She turned away. “I guess I’d better—” She spun back. “Kia, do you really love Phillip? I mean, like a woman should love a man? Please, I need to know.”

There was such anguish in her eyes, guilt stabbed Kia in the heart.

“Kia, he needs me. I know he does. I love him with all my heart and I’m swallowing my pride in front of you and begging you to tell me the truth.”

Kia couldn’t stand Lynette’s pain any longer. It just wasn’t right to keep the other woman in the dark. She owed it to her—and to Phillip—to help straighten things out.

“No, Lynette. I don’t love Phillip. Not in that way.”

“Thank God.” Lynette swayed, then quickly gathered herself, blinking back tears. When she’d recovered, a crease formed between her eyes and she looked confused. “So why did you get engaged?”

Kia told her the truth and explained how one thing had led to another. “I’m sorry for all the pain we’ve put you through, Lynette. I was just trying to help Phillip.”

“Do you …?” Lynette swallowed. “Do you think he still loves me?”

“I know he does.”

Hope filled Lynette’s eyes and made them shine. “I have to go to him.”

Kia nodded. Behind the other woman’s delicate appearance, she sensed a strength of character she suspected would surprise Phillip. “If he gives you a hard time, tell him I said he’s a fool.”

Lynette quickly hugged her. “I hope you find someone for you soon.”

“I’m not sure I want anyone,” Kia said with a small smile. The only person who had ever really affected her was Brant. And he … well, there was nothing more to say there.

Lynette left the room, so happy she looked as if she were walking on air. Kia smiled as relief swept through her that she’d told the other woman of Phillip’s love. It was in Lynette’s hands now.

Just then, the hairs on the back of Kia’s neck stood to attention. Even before she turned toward the connecting door she was certain Brant would be standing there.

And he was. He’d been in the small conference room the whole time. A fear such as she’d never known skittered under her skin. Primal fear. Sexual fear. She only had to look at the anger in his eyes to know he had overheard.

“Um … Brant. I didn’t know you were there.”

For a moment the air hung between them like a sheet of humidity.

“So the gold digger’s conscience got the better of her, did it?” he sneered, leaning against the doorjamb, about as laid-back as a crocodile lazing in the sun.

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Gold digger?” Was he crazy? “Are you talking about me?”

“Too bad, sweetheart. You missed out on marriage this time, but I’m sure you can find another man to fall for that innocent act.”

“Wh-what?” She had no idea what he was talking about.

“Don’t deny it. I saw your picture in a magazine. Even the journalist could tell a fortune hunter when he saw one. In fact, he remarked on how you’d hooked one of the Australia’s richest bachelors.”

Was she really hearing this? “That journalist—and I use the word loosely—has got it in for me because I refused to go out with him. He’s just trying to make me look bad.” She’d felt ill when she’d seen the photograph and the comment he’d made.

“Really?” Brant’s eyes said he didn’t believe her. “Even if that’s the case, I heard you on the telephone. My ears don’t deceive me.”

She frowned. “Telephone?”

“That’s right. When I came back from Paris I heard you bragging to someone on the phone about it being as easy to fall in love with a rich man than a poor one.” His top lip curled. “The next thing, you were Phillip’s shadow and engaged to him.”

She tried to think. Then it hit her. “I was talking to Gerald … my stepfather. It’s a joke between us. Good Lord. So this is why you’ve been a pig to me since I first met you? You thought I was marrying Phillip for his money?”

He made a harsh sound. “You were quick to take the diamond necklace from him.”

“He asked me to wear it to the Christmas party. I gave it back the next day. Ask him if you don’t believe me.”

Something flickered in his eyes. “The Porsche?”

“My father gave it to me. He deals in cars, remember?” Her heart twinged. “He likes his ‘Barbie’ to come with accessories.”

For a moment there was a flash of sympathy, then his face hardened. “If you dislike your father so much, why take the car?”

“He offered and I thought why not? I figure the man owes me for all he’s put me through. If he wants to give me a Porsche, I’m taking the Porsche. There’s nothing wrong with that.” She paused. “Anyway, if I wanted money, I only have to ask him for some … not that I would. He’s got enough money to keep me in luxury for the rest of my life. Unfortunately it comes with a price.”

A tic beat in his jaw. “Even if all that’s true, you’re obviously very good at conning people. You’ve been living a lie.”

She winced. “For Phillip’s sake.”

“And for your own. You used him just as much as he used you.”

Her chin lifted. He was so conceited. “Now why would I do that?” she said, then realized it was a challenge.

Suddenly he turned and closed the connecting door behind him. “To keep us apart.”

Her eyes darted to the doorknob where his hand still rested. “Us? There’s nothing between us.”

He strode across the room to the main office door. “Lying again, Kia?” He shut that door too. Then he turned back toward her in the middle of the room.

Her knees began to shake. “Er … what are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing?” His voice flowed over her like liquid silk.

Her throat went dry. “You’re playing games with me.”

“No game, Kia. Far from it.”

She straightened her shoulders. “Brant, stop it. This is ridiculous. You’re my boss. I’m—”

“About to be kissed,” he murmured, stopping right in front of her. He didn’t touch her. Didn’t reach out. He just stood there, looking at her. And what she saw melted every bone in her body. He was still angry, but oh, God, he wanted her.

She licked her lips. “Brant, I—”

“I’m so angry with you right now I’m either going to swear or kiss you.”

She tried to step back.

He grabbed her arm to prevent her from moving, his touch shooting desire to every region of her body. “And then I’m going to take the clothes off that delicious body of yours and taste all of you.”

She felt the room twirl around her. “I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

He pulled her closer, his pupils darkening. “I’ve waited too long already.”

A ripple of anticipation ran through her as she watched his head lower … watched those lips come closer … and when he touched her, she could no longer deny him or herself. Every moment from the minute she’d met him had been rushing headlong toward this kiss. Ever since her first look at him in this very office, nothing else had mattered, nothing but wanting to feel the consuming pressure of his lips on hers, as they were doing now.

At last.

The kiss still took her by surprise. She expected him to plunder and ravish her on the carpet, but he didn’t, and she soon forgot all about his anger as the velvet warmth of his mouth stirred every nerve ending on her lips, before he used his tongue to slide inside her.

And there he stayed, exploring the soft, sensitized recesses of her mouth until she thought she might fuse with him. But she wanted him closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cupped the back of his head to hold him to her. It felt so good to be like this with him. This was where she belonged. If only for a short while.

Raising his mouth from hers, he gazed deeply into her eyes, so deep that she suddenly worried he might see the real her. Not the outside person but the inside person. The person who didn’t know how she was going to handle this man.

“What’s the matter?” he said, watching her.

“Um … nothing.” Her gaze darted down to his chest, lowering her eyelids, briefly covering her face from him. She wanted to remain like this and not let him see her thoughts. She needed to keep something of herself to herself.

And then he took her arms from around his neck and put them at her sides. He lifted her chin, holding her gaze. “I won’t let you hold back from me,” he warned softly.

She took a shaky breath. “You won’t let me?”

“No.” He reached out and undid the top button of her dress, and suddenly she didn’t have the strength to argue with him. She stood there and let him undress her. She wanted him to do it. Wanted him to undo all the buttons and feel his touch on her skin. Wanted to give all of herself to him.

His hands were sure and never missed a beat as they slid down from one button to the next, opening the material wider, more fully. For him.

She could see the pulse in his neck thumping wildly and she wanted to reach out and run her finger over it. Touching him would be like throwing a match onto kerosene.

He pushed the material off her shoulders and let it slide down her arms, down her body, to the carpet. She heard him groan as she stood there in a lacy bra, bikini panties, no stockings, and high-heeled sandals. For a moment she wished she’d worn them. It may have put up a barrier.

But who was she kidding? Nothing was going to stop this. She didn’t want it to stop, God help her.

“I like the color peach on you,” he murmured, his eyes flaring with hot desire. “It flatters you.”

She moaned and whispered, “Touch me,” and he suddenly swung her in his arms, carrying her over to the large mahogany desk. With one hand he swept the papers aside, then planted her in the middle of it. Her stomach somersaulted as he stood looking down at her.

“I’ve fantasized you like this for weeks,” he murmured, reaching out to twine his fingers in her hair, loosening the blonde strands at the nape of her neck. “And this,” he said, lifting her hair up in his hands, then leaning forward and burying his face in her locks, inhaling deeply.

She stilled, breathing in the mingled scent of his body heat and aftershave as it soaked into her pores … until the soft peck of his lips moved to her ear, to her jawline and finally her mouth again.

Eventually he broke off the kiss. “Here, let me,” he murmured, his fingers sliding under her bra straps and slowly pushing them off her shoulders.

She trembled when his palms caressed the bare skin there before slipping around to her back to undo the catch. Her bra fell away, and suddenly she was naked from the waist up. She wanted to hide, not from him but from herself. She didn’t know if she could let herself go like this.

“Beautiful,” he said in a gravelly voice, teasing her breasts with his hands until her breathing quickened even more and she had to close her eyes from sheer pleasure.

His head lowered, his mouth closing over one nipple, and she gasped, her breasts surging at the intimacy of it all.

“Brant!”

He pulled back, his eyes searing a path over her. And then he moved and his lips followed that same path, kissing down the center of her, teasing her belly button with the tip of his tongue before stopping at the top of her thighs.

He inhaled deeply through the thin lace, and she almost dissolved. She’d never done anything like this before. Never let a man do this to her. She’d had one lover in high school and nothing since.

He pushed the material to one side. “I have to taste you,” he said, his fingers seeking her, opening her to him. He placed his mouth against her, and she cried out his name as his tongue darted out to taste her, explore her, tracing the shape of her, teasing the small part of her that suddenly felt as if she were about to explode.

“Oh, Brant,” she moaned again. She closed her eyes as something powerful inched up inside her with every touch of his tongue. It felt so good … so right … so exquisite.

“Ooh!” She exploded with one more stroke, going up in flames like a bushfire sweeping through her, burning everything in sight, leaving nothing of her unmarked. She would never be the same again, never forget what it was like to have this man touch her like this.

And when she opened her eyes, Brant was leaning back in the chair, watching her with such possessive satisfaction that her breath caught in her throat.

Her heart gave a triple beat. She wanted to look away, only she couldn’t. There’d been too much between them all these weeks. Too much longing. Too much wanting each other. They’d earned this moment between them.

Brant spoke first. “Here, let’s get you dressed,” he said brusquely and gently closed her legs.

“Oh, but …” She could feel her cheeks growing red as he passed her bra. “I mean … urn … aren’t we going to …?”

“Make love? Not yet.” He stood up and helped her off the desk as intense disappointment swept through her. She went to turn away, but he held her still. “My place. Seven o’clock.”

She blinked. “To-tonight?”

“Yes.” He ran a finger across her lips, his eyes a mixture of need and still-deep anger. “No more waiting. For either of us. And I can’t do everything I want to do to you in the office.”

She swallowed, suddenly panicked by the magnitude of it all. He overwhelmed her. He made her feel things she didn’t want to feel. Made her do things she wanted to do.

“No, I can’t. I—”

“I’ve put my stamp on you now, Kia. You can’t deny that.”

She sucked in a shaky breath, very much aware he was right. “Brant, this was just a … brief interlude.”

“It was a prelude,” he insisted, putting his hand under her chin. “You were ready for me a minute ago,” he reminded her, and she almost dissolved again.

“Yes, well …” She cleared her throat. “That was then. This is now.”

His eyes darkened dangerously. “Kia, we should have been lovers weeks ago.”

Her shoulders tensed. She could see his anger over Phillip still simmering beneath the surface. “Even if you hadn’t thought I was with Phillip, it doesn’t mean—”

“Yes, it does,” he cut across her. “Have no doubts, Kia. We would have been lovers. You’re only fooling yourself if you think otherwise.”

To prove it, his hands slid around her waist and brought her close. Her body immediately arched against him, her near-naked curves tucking in against his hard contours. Heat rippled under her skin and jolted her mind into the realization that once again he was right. She pushed herself away, and thankfully he let her go, but the smoldering look in his eyes said it all.

Trying to maintain her composure, she hurried around the desk to get the rest of her clothes, feeling exposed in more ways than one. His gaze remained on her, watching her every move, and she silently shuddered as she dressed as fast as she could.

“Kia.”

She did up the last button, then looked up at him. The hunger in his eyes sent a tremor through her.

“You owe this to yourself,” he growled, challenge in his voice.

Kia made her way back to her office on shaky legs and collapsed onto her chair. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. Had she really let herself be taken in such a way? No man had made love to her with his mouth before, though she knew it was an aspect of lovemaking that most couples enjoyed. Dear God, now she could see why.

What she hadn’t expected was to come apart in Brant’s hands quite the way she had. Where was her control? Her self-respect? She’d known she was a challenge to him. That he only wanted her body. So what had she done? She’d handed herself to him on a platter, that’s what.

Or a desk, she corrected, feeling a blush rising up from the tips of her toes. How could she hold her head high now? Suddenly she knew she had to get out of there. She’d earned the right to leave early … in more ways than one.

Jumping to her feet, she grabbed her handbag and headed for the door. If she remained here alone with Brant, he might be tempted to take up where they’d left off and not wait for tonight.

Tonight.

You owe this to yourself, he’d said.

He was right, yet how could she turn up at his place when he thought she was a gold digger? Had thought it from the start. A woman who was mercenary enough to use men for her own advantage. That hurt.

So why did her heart turn over at the thought of not making love with Brant?

Brant tossed the pencil on the desk. He needed to get these reports out, but his mind kept dropping back to Kia. Could he accept she wasn’t a gold digger? Her answers had made sense, but isn’t that what con artists did? They conned you into believing what they wanted you to believe.

And all these weeks she’d been living a lie by pretending to be involved with Phillip. Had even let herself become engaged to him. Just as Julia had lived a lie. Until she’d run off with his own brother.

Hell. He thought he’d been hearing things when Kia had told Lynette she didn’t love Phil the way a woman should love a man. She’d lied to him, dammit. He’d asked her straight out if she loved her fiancé and she’d said yes.

Why? Because she knew he’d have her in bed in no time, that’s why. She wouldn’t be able to help herself. She’d wanted to make love with him, too.

Yet how different she’d been to the experienced women he usually bedded. Women who proudly strutted their stuff. Women who took the initiative, the way he liked. Women who hadn’t shattered in his arms as Kia had. Her passion, her innocence in this way, convinced him she hadn’t been with a man or come alive under a man’s mouth in years. That was something in her favor. Surely a gold digger wouldn’t hesitate to use her body to get men to fall in love with her? Oh, hell. He just didn’t know what to think anymore.

What he did know was that she’d been perfect. Had tasted better than perfect. It’s the reason he’d held himself in check and not taken her fully as he’d ached to do. He wanted to love her slowly, take his time, make up for all those weeks of aching. Tonight he’d brand her with his body and make her his.

When he opened the door to his penthouse that evening, Brant almost forgot to breathe. The soft blue material of Kia’s dress bared her tanned shoulders and arms and fell lovingly over the length of her body to just above her knees, in a simple design that would have looked plain on another woman. Yet on her it looked stunning. She couldn’t look unattractive if her life depended on it.

He stepped back to allow her to enter. “Relax. I’m not going to ravish you on the spot,” he said, even if the thought was more than tempting.

She moved past him in a cloud of perfume that was endlessly alluring, then stopped in the middle of the room and faced him, the light of battle entering her eyes. “That’s a relief,” she quipped, a becoming flush staining her cheeks.

He closed the door, knowing he could always count on her to be defiant even in the most difficult of circumstances. And this had to be the most difficult for her ever. But her uncertainty didn’t change a thing. They would make love tonight.

“Take a seat while I pour you a drink.” He gestured to the black leather sofa. “Gin and tonic, right?”

“Extra large.”

“Oh, no, you don’t,” he drawled. “I don’t want you to forget a moment of tonight. I certainly don’t intend to.”

She moistened her lips. “Brant, I think this is a mistake. I shouldn’t have come.”

“It isn’t a mistake. It’s called being grown-up. It’s about being adults over a situation that we both clearly need to address.”

Her chin rose in the air. “I thought it was more childlike when you give in and take what you want.”

“Ah, so you admit you want me,” he said as he poured the drinks at the bar.

She glared at him. “I think we should leave things as they are. My being here will only complicate matters.”

He picked up the glasses of liquid and walked toward her. “A complication I’ll willingly embrace, if you’ll pardon the pun.”

She ignored that as she accepted her glass. “How do you know I won’t be faking it? After all, I faked the engagement and you never knew the difference, for all your extensive experience.”

“I suspected something was amiss.”

Her mouth set in a stubborn line. “I did it for a reason. To help Phillip.”

“And to keep me at arm’s length.”

“It worked.”

“And now it doesn’t. Accept it.”

Her blue eyes lit with anger. “Look, you said yourself that I’m a gold digger. If you want a woman tonight, why pick on me? Wouldn’t any body do?”

His amusement deserted him. “No,” he said tersely. No other woman in the world would do. It was the reason he hadn’t returned any of his women friend’s calls. Why he hadn’t made love in weeks now. The reason he’d thrown himself into his work even harder. And why he’d been so bloody snappy with everyone lately. It just hadn’t been humane that the one woman who turned him on had been involved with his business partner.

He expelled a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Yes, she had been involved with Phil. Had been untouchable. Had been out of reach.

But she was no longer.

He nodded at the sliding glass doors. “Let’s go out on the balcony. We can have dinner out there.”

Her shoulders stiffened. “I’m not hungry.”

“Then perhaps we should give dinner a miss?”

She immediately stepped forward and strode past him to the balcony, her set mouth telling him what she thought of that idea.

“I figured that would change your mind,” he murmured, following her over to the railing, where she stood looking out over the spectacular sunset view of Mindil Beach and Darwin Harbor. It was glorious out here at any time of year, but during the beginning of the wet season, like now, he loved watching the incredible lightning displays that lit up the sky most nights.

Yet tonight the only thing he wanted to light up was the woman standing next to him. He turned to look at her. The evening sun reflected on the delicate contours of her face, giving her a special glow, making her look more beautiful.

“Do you have to look at me like that?” she said in a throaty voice, a blush creeping into her cheeks.

“Yes,” he said huskily. Right now he didn’t think he’d ever get enough of looking at her.

She swallowed hard. “You’re not making this any easier for me.”

“Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.”

She turned to face him, her expression growing resentful. “That’s the attraction, isn’t it, Brant? You couldn’t have me, so you decided you wanted me.”

“I admit I like a challenge.” His eyes dipped to her parted lips. “But wanting you wasn’t a decision I chose to make. I took one look at you and knew the decision had already been made for me.”

“How nice,” she said with false sweetness.

He smiled. She could fight herself all she liked, but it wouldn’t make one speck of difference. She would be in his arms tonight. And in his bed. He was sure of that.

“Shall we eat?” he said and took great pleasure in placing his hand under her elbow to lead her over to the small dining table in the middle of the balcony. Her shiver was from desire, he saw it in her eyes, and it sent a hunger for more than food racing through him. But he could wait. He wanted to savor her first.

They dined on prawn cocktail as an entrée, followed by a grilled lamb with zucchini and tomatoes that his housekeeper had made. Brant watched in amusement over Kia’s attempt to go slow as she chewed each mouthful as though it was the last food she’d ever eat.

“This is very good,” she said, taking another tiny bite of the lamb. “Did you cook this yourself?”

He shot her a mocking smile. “Do I look like a cook?”

She stiffened. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with cooking. Lots of men like to do it.”

“And lots of men like to make love,” he said, purposefully seductive. “How many men have made love to you, Kia?”

She almost choked, then recovered quickly. “How many have you made love to?”

“I don’t find men attractive. Now women, that’s more my style.”

Her eyes filled with derision. “I guess it’s more an art form than a technique with you then.”

He leaned back in his chair, curious at her remark.

She pressed on. “I’d say you’ve had plenty of practice having sex.”

“True. But I’ve always practiced safe sex, so you have no worries on that score.”

“I’m relieved,” she said drily.

“It’s important, Kia.”

She sighed. “I know.”

“So, Kia.” He paused and took a sip of wine. “How many lovers have you had?”

“One.”

He arched a brow as the muscles at the back of his neck tensed. Could she really be as innocent as all that?

She shot him a defiant look. “Hey, you asked, so don’t blame me if you don’t like the answer.”

His eyes narrowed. “I know your game. You think I’ll back off if you tell me you’re inexperienced.”

She placed her fork on the table. “Actually, I don’t care what you think. It’s the truth.”

His gut clenched. “Tell me about it.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I want no more secrets between us, Kia. Not in bed, anyway.”

She considered him for a long moment. Then she said, “I lost my virginity at a party when I was fifteen. It was the one and only time I got drunk and I gave it away to the first boy that looked at me because my father had just gotten married and didn’t want his ‘plain-looking’ daughter at his wedding and I needed to feel loved. He didn’t even ask me my name.”

She said it so matter-of-factly that he believed her. He swore under his breath.

She shrugged. “I hardly remember most of it. I was just so lucky not to have found myself pregnant.”

He scowled. “The boy didn’t use protection?”

“I was too drunk to notice.”

“But surely—” His jaw clenched, then he forced himself to relax. “I’ll make a deal with you. We’ll make love, but if at any time you want me to stop, I will.”

Her throat convulsed. “You’d do that?”

Something softened inside him. “I want a willing female in my bed. I don’t get my kicks from forcing a woman.” Rising, he held out his hand. “I need you. Need to make love with you, Kia Benton,” he said, deliberately saying her name, wanting her to know that he knew exactly who she was, unlike the boy who had stripped her of her virginity. “I promise you this won’t be like your first time.”