Stolen: The Billionaire Decepti(18)

“Hey doll face. Where ya been until ten o’clock on a school night?”



“Ha ha! You’re hilarious,” I told him. “I worked until late and then I had dinner.”



“With?”



“With what?”



“With whom?”



“Is it whom? I would have gone with who.”



“That’s because you were a business major. It’s all numbers, no English.”



“Look whom is talking,” I said with a smile.



“Knock off the Laurel and Hardy routine and answer the question.”



“I had dinner with my boss,” I said. “It was strictly professional.”



“Really?”



“Really,” I said.



“Hmm, then why did you hem and haw and blush, and why is your hair all down and pretty around your shoulders? You never wear it like that in a professional capacity.”



I yawned and said, “Oh wow, look how late it’s getting. I should get to bed.”



When I reached the hallway he said, “Erin.” I stopped and turned around to face him. He had his serious face on now. He was no longer playing as he said, “You’re going to get hurt.”



I know he loves me, but I didn’t want him taking away my happiness tonight.



“How do you know that, Grant?”



“Because this is about family, baby. You want revenge for yours and he will undoubtedly be willing to go to great lengths to protect his. Family is one of those things that have torn couples apart for centuries. Please be careful.”



“I am being careful,” I lied. I had completely let my guard down tonight and had not once considered the fact that I intended to destroy everything that Seth held dear. I went back over to where Grant was standing and he opened his arms. I folded myself into them and as he hugged me I said, “I’m trying so hard not to feel anything for him.”



“Sometimes chemistry, or love, or whatever you want to call it, can’t be overridden.”



I pulled back and looked at him and said, “So then what do I do?”



He wiped the loose curls off my forehead and looked into my eyes and said, “You have to decide which one you want more because I’m afraid that you can’t have both.”



I went to bed that night with Grant’s words ringing in my head and Seth’s gentle touch resonating in my heart. Grant was right, it was doubtful I could have this man if I also chose to destroy his family. But how could I give up something I’d virtually lived for over the past eleven years? The warm, cozy feeling I had left Seth with that night morphed into a pounding headache and very little sleep. I went to work the next morning resolving to keep my distance from Seth. I think he is genuinely a good man and my attraction to him was strong, but I owed it to my father to take back what he had intended to be mine. I couldn’t do that if I was emotionally involved with the enemy.



Several hours after I had that thought, I was sitting at my desk pouring over some documents that Harlan wanted my opinion on when there was a knock on my half closed door. Without waiting for an invitation, it was pushed open and Seth appeared.



“Good morning,” he said, with that smile that drove me wild.



“Good morning,” I said, returning his smile. I tried to make mine less enthusiastic, but my body reacted in strange ways when he was around.



Seth came in and closed the door behind him. I expected him to have a seat in the chair on the other side of my desk. Instead, he came around to where I was sitting and took me by the hands, pulling me to my feet. I was standing with my head tilted back, looking up at him wondering what in God’s name he was doing. He didn’t make me wait long to find out.



“I barely slept at all last night,” he said. “I kept thinking about our dinner and walking you back to your car and the one thing I should have done, but didn’t.”



I was pretty sure I knew what he was talking about, but just because I’m a glutton for punishment I said, “What was that?”



Still holding onto my hands, he swung me around like we were dancing. My back was facing the wall and Seth’s chest was at my eye level. He bent his head down so that we were eye to eye and then he said, “I should have kissed you, Erin. I’m going to kiss you right now to make up for it, as long as you don’t object.”



I thought about objecting, I really did. The words ran themselves across my brain but for some reason they didn’t reach my tongue or my lips. I was strangely okay with that. The only thing I wanted on my tongue or my lips at that moment were his tongue and his lips, so instead of speaking I tilted my head back further. Seth took a step forward and with his arm wrapped around my waist, he pressed my body against the wall. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and that fire he’d lit in my belly the night before was now burning hot in my chest. He leaned down and swiped his lips across mine. It was like he was testing me out to see if I was going to object. When I didn’t he brought them down again, this time to cover mine and I heard myself moan slightly as my lips fell open. He slid his hot tongue in between them and found mine. I felt his hand slide down and grip my backside and lift me up off my feet while we kissed. I was completely engulfed by this man I purported to hate and I loved it.