Billionaire's Contract Engagement(22)

Her stomach rolled into a tight ball. The last thing she wanted was a  raucous night at Rosa with the work gang. Usually she'd be all over it.  The Maddox employees regularly hung out at the upscale martini bar just a  block away. It's where they met to celebrate, commiserate or just take a  break from a hellish workday.

The last celebration they'd staged there had been for Jason after he'd  landed the Prentice account. Now Brock was lining up the chorus for her.

Her cheeks tightened in pleasure even as her heart sank at the idea of  ditching Evan after agreeing to meet him. He'd think her the worst sort  of coward even if it was the smart thing to do.

"I'd love to, Brock, but I already have plans for the evening. Important  plans," she added after a pause. "Besides, I'd rather not jinx myself  before going into the presentation. It's not in the bag-yet-but I  certainly plan to perform a slam dunk on Friday."

He nodded. "Yeah, I understand. We'll go and just call it a pre-planning  session. It's as good an excuse as any to throw back a few. But if you  land this, just be prepared for a victory celebration to end all victory  celebrations."

She grinned. "Oh, you know it. I can't wait. I'll totally hold you to it."

"Okay, take care and see you tomorrow." He turned to go but stopped and  turned back once more. "Oh, and, Celia, if I haven't already said it,  thank you. You did a magnificent job. I doubted your approach at first,  but you came through in spades."

Her heart sped up and she curled her fingers until her nails dug into  her palms. It was all she could do not to stand up and throw her arms in  the air complete with an obnoxious yell.

"Thank you for your trust," she said as calmly as possible.

With a short salute, he disappeared down the hallway, leaving Celia grinning like a loon.

Promptly at a quarter to five, Celia headed down the elevator-fifteen  minutes before quitting time so she'd miss the majority of her  coworkers. She didn't want to explain why she wasn't joining them at  Rosa.

Her apartment wasn't far, and usually she'd enjoy driving her Beamer  with the top down-it really was a sassy, smooth handling dream  machine-but today she was just impatient to be home, and the traffic was  driving her mad.

When she reached her apartment, she recognized the car out front and the  driver standing on the curb beside it. With a groan, she slowed to a  stop on the street and rolled down her window.

"I'll only be a moment," she called.

The driver smiled, tipped his hat and said, "No hurry, Miss Taylor. Take your time."

She maneuvered into her parking spot and dashed inside, ready to do  battle. She hadn't missed Evan's reaction to her sexy, feminine  lingerie. It was her one indulgence or what she deemed a silly  indulgence since her sex life was so staid in the last few years that no  one but her had a prayer of ever seeing what her underwear looked like.

Hopping on one foot as she stepped out of her clothing, she went over to  her drawer to find the most sinful set of lingerie she owned. She  settled on pink. What was more feminine or soft looking than pink? Even  growing up with a hoard of boys hadn't erased the girly from her. And  since she was a redhead, wearing pink clothing wasn't an option. But  pink underwear she could do.

Unsure of whether she'd return to her apartment before going to work the  next day-and she did like to be prepared for anything-she threw an  outfit into an overnight bag along with her toiletries and a lavender  bra and panties.

She did a quick check of her messages and then did something she never  did. She turned off her BlackBerry and tucked it into her overnight bag.  Tonight was hers. She needed no reminders from the business world. If  she was going to indulge in fantasy, she was going whole hog.

She locked up and hurried out her door to the street where the driver  waited. He ushered her into the backseat and they drove away into  traffic.

It amused her how exciting she found the whole experience. She could be a  mistress at the beck and call of her über-wealthy benefactor,  discreetly bundled into a private car and rushed to meet him at an  undisclosed location.

"Get it together, Celia," she muttered.

Lord, but she did lose all her brain cells when it came to this man. If  she wasn't careful, she'd throw away all her independence and start  greeting him at the door every evening, wearing a kitchen apron with  oven mitts and a piping-hot casserole dish.         

     



 

Oddly but the image wasn't all that distasteful. For the first few  seconds anyway. She laughed outright and it had the effect of someone  popping her thought bubble with a sharp pin.

The driver looked up in the rearview mirror, and she valiantly tried to  look back with a straight face. If he only knew the absurd thoughts she  was processing.

If she was truly the naughty girl of her fantasies, she would have  ridden over with only a trench coat covering her sexy lingerie. Then  when she walked into Evan's room, she could discard the coat and watch  his reaction.

The idea certainly had merit, and if she ever received another invitation such as tonight, she'd give it serious consideration.

A few minutes later, the driver pulled up to the sumptuous hotel Evan  resided in when he was in town, bypassed the main entrance and stopped  at the second pull in where her door was immediately opened by one of  the hotel staff.

Maybe Evan had his own entrance. The thought amused her, but then he had so much money, it wouldn't surprise her.

She was immediately met by concierge and was handed a keycard.

"Mr. Reese wishes for you to go right up," the older man said.

She blushed from head to toe. She knew well what it looked like. Like  she was some hooker or mistress-precisely what she'd imagined on her way  over-all set to have a clandestine meeting.

She took the key card, murmured her thanks, and shot past the doorman  and into the small hallway leading directly to the elevators. Thankfully  she bypassed the lobby entirely. It seemed like everyone in the world  knew what she was here for.

In the elevator, she inserted her key and punched the button for the top  floor. She was whisked to the top in no time at all and stepped into  the eerily quiet hallway. There were only a few doors. The rooms must be  huge because she only counted four doors total. Evan's was on the very  end, and she took a deep breath before inserting the key into the slot.

When she opened the door and stepped inside, she immediately saw Evan  standing across the room, drink in hand, his eyes fixed on her. He'd  been waiting. She could sense his impatience and see the triumph in his  expression when she closed the door behind her.

She stood there, unmoving, as he put his drink aside and crossed the room in just a few, long strides.

"You came," he murmured.

He swept her into his arms and kissed her. He wasn't gentle or even  particularly careful. Their bodies came together in a clash she felt all  the way to her bones.

"Did you think I wouldn't?" she asked when she was finally able to draw a breath.

His eyes glittered, and his throat worked up and down as if he was trying to hold on to his control.

"If you hadn't, I was prepared to go and drag you out of your apartment."

All her concerns fell away. Nothing else mattered but the intense need they felt for each other.

"Next time I won't come. I have my own set of caveman fantasies wherein the Neanderthal drags me off to his cave."

He growled low in his throat and before she could react, he had her in his arms and was striding toward the bedroom.





Fourteen


They made it as far as the dresser. Evan slid her onto the polished  surface of the wood and leaned in until she straddled his hips.

"I swore this time I'd savor first," he said against her mouth. "Dammit, but when I see you, all reason flies out the door."

She hooked her legs around his back and pulled him into the V of her groin.

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?"

"Never a woman," he murmured as he swept hungrily over her mouth.

Her excitement mounted as Evan ripped at her shirt. He shoved it down  over her shoulders, trapping her arms to her sides. His hands smoothed  up her bare skin to her shoulders. He gripped her so hard, she knew  she'd wear his prints.

His breath blew hot over her chin and then her jaw. He kissed a line to her ear then sucked the lobe between his teeth.

Shivers overtook her. Delicate little goose bumps dotted her flesh until she trembled uncontrollably.

He stepped back, his hands falling to the waistband of her pants. His  fingers hung in the snap and he stood there staring at her heaving  chest.

"You're so beautiful."

He raised one finger to hook in the strap of her bra. He ran it up then  down, and he grazed the tip over the swell of her breast.

"I love the lingerie."

She leaned back on the dresser, resting her palms on the top to give him a better glimpse of her cleavage.

"You're absolutely merciless, aren't you?" he murmured.

She smiled and arched invitingly until the barest hint of her nipples peeked at him over the lace cups of her bra.