Meddling with a Millionaire (9 page)

Nathan's breath caught. Long brown hair tumbled about her shoulders, framing a face of vulnerable beauty. He considered the wide-eyed darkness of her chocolate-hued eyes and the thoroughly plundered redness of her mouth.

Had he only kissed her? She looked positively drugged by passion.

“Now, that's more like it,” he said an instant before her hands snaked out and caught his belt to tug him closer. He bent his head and answered her urgent call for a kiss.

Her lips clung to his when he lifted his head. She breathed in a rapid, unsteady manner that made him smile as he surveyed the wholly sensual look on her face, put there by his caresses.

Groaning low in her throat, the animalistic sound fanning his desire, she slid her palm downward. Before she could touch him, Nathan caught her wrist and pulled her hand away. “None of that right now. I promised you a night to remember,” he growled, sweeping her off her feet and into his arms. “Not a quickie on the floor in my living room.”

When he set her on her feet once more, his king-size mattress bumped the back of her knees.

“A quickie,” she murmured, fumbling to unfasten the belt and the top button of his trousers. “Yes, make love to me now.”

He tumbled her onto the bed. “If you insist.”

“I insist.” She arched, catlike, as he rolled her beneath him.

Nathan dipped his tongue in her ear and elicited a disturbed shudder, and then he leaned back to consider her smooth, pale skin and the provocative charm of her rose-tipped breasts, glimpsed through the lace of her bra.

“You are so soft,” he sighed against her throat, trailing his tongue down her chest and across the delicate fabric of her bra.

She arched and offered her breasts. He felt her nipple harden after he raked his teeth across it. Her breath rasped in and out of her lungs, keeping time with the disturbed movements of her hands in his hair and across his shoulders.

“I've never felt anything like this before.”

Her muted, feminine voice entered his system like the resonance of pure crystal, brightening his mood. “Good.”

He rolled onto his back, taking her with him. With a hand on each thigh, he positioned her on top of him. He held her head and devoured her mouth, plunging his tongue deep to tangle with hers. As she gave him back all the passion he demanded, Nathan found his control slipping a little further from his grasp.

He'd intended to seduce her slowly, to ply her body with all the expertise at his disposal, but she moved against him frantically, her thighs tightening on his hips. Desire raked long talons across his senses. He was dangerously close to letting the urge to take her hard, deep and fast dictate his actions.

Without warning she broke off the kiss and sat up. She
rubbed her thumb across his lower lip. He nipped at the pad. Her lips curved in a satisfied smile as she stroked lower, sampling the shape of his chin, the sensitivity of his ears and the pulse throbbing in his throat.

“You have a very nice chest,” she told him, drawing provocative circles in ever-tightening swirls around his pectoral muscles.

“I was thinking the same thing about you.”

He lifted one hand to skim across her breasts just above the lace edging of the bra. Their pale roundness moved enticingly with each shuddering breath.

When he grazed her nipple through the satin fabric, she mimicked him. The sensation startled him. His erection prodded her through their clothes, insistent, relentless.

She shook her head, sending her long hair cascading around her face. Leaning down, she brushed the brown silkiness against his chest, tickling him, tantalizing him and hiding her expression.

“How does it feel when I touch you like this?” she asked, raking her nails over his nipples and down his abdomen.

“Incredible. How about when I touch you like this?” He swallowed her breasts in his hands and gently kneaded.

She threw back her head and arched her spine, putting her hands behind her and pushing into his caress. “Amazing.”

Inspired by her husky, awed comment, he slowly rid them both of the rest of their clothes, taking the time to slide his hands and mouth over each new inch of her flesh he bared, until they were both naked and shaking uncontrollably. Emma's lashes veiled the expression in her eyes as Nathan drew the tip of one finger along the curve of her breast to her nipple. He watched her shiver as he slowly bent his head to capture the hard bud in his mouth.

“Oh, Nathan,” she whispered his name as his mouth tugged at her breast.

“Are you cold?” he questioned, kissing his way down
her stomach to dip his tongue into her navel. Emma's gaze remained riveted on him as he lifted her thigh so that he could kiss the inside of her knee.

“No.” Her voice broke as he opened his mouth and sucked on the sensitive flesh a little higher up. She rocked her hips, enticing him to touch where she ached. “You're trembling.”

“That's your fault.”

“Let's see what I can do about it then.”

His tone might have been affectionate and teasing, but his chest tightened with driving need. He eased his fingers along her thigh, aiming for the source of her pleasure. He caught and held her gaze while he brushed the brown curls at the juncture of her thighs. Her lashes fluttered, but she bravely watched. This open, visual lovemaking would drive him mad. Ah, but what a way to go.

The swirling pressure in his groin built into a knot of searing demand as Nathan slid his finger against her warmth, focusing her pleasure where he wanted it. Her eager reactions filled him with fierce satisfaction. He intended for her to feel the same wildness that was clawing him.

Her head moved restlessly against the pillow as he stroked her, pushing her toward the beckoning promise of fulfillment. She gripped the sheets, tension riding her curvaceous frame. The sounds of pleasure she made told him exactly how to increase the sensations roiling her.

“That's it, love,” he crooned as she fragmented, her body rocked by a powerful orgasm. He held her while she gasped for breath, soothing her with long, sweeping caresses.

She tugged on his arm, urging him up beside her, and threaded her fingers through his hair. He kissed her nose and traced the line of her lower lip with his tongue, his body tight with need.

“Nathan?”

“Yes, Emma?”

“That was incredible.” She parted her legs and rotated her hips until he was trapped in the sexy cradle between her thighs. “But I need more.”

Her heat called to him, drove him mad with wanting. He kissed his way down her neck. “What's the rush? We have all night.”

“You want to make me yours,” she reminded him, nipping at his chin. Her breath hitched as he eased his lips over her skin. “Please do that.”

He closed his eyes as her pleading eroded his willpower. “I want you fully satisfied before I do so. I don't think I've fulfilled my end of the bargain.”

His voice shook with harsh urgency, but he couldn't control that any more than he could stop the trembling in his muscles as her fingers caressed his chest and moved lower. He wanted her so much he thought he might die from the ache.

“I won't be fully satisfied until you're inside me.”

Nathan sucked in his breath as her fingers found his shaft and measured him in a series of provocative, fluid strokes.

No more words were needed. He eased forward. Her hips lifted to find the hardness of him and her hands cupped his buttocks to urge him into her. Trapped between her heat and the soft determination of her hands, he had no choice but to give her what she wanted.

Bracing his weight on his arms, he slipped inside her a little at a time. She groaned in pleasure as her body absorbed all of him. The sound almost pushed him over the edge, but he sucked in a deep, steadying breath and focused on her face.

“Tell me what you're thinking,” he said, taking a long moment to savor the passion-drugged sleepiness in her heavy-lidded expression.

“I'm thinking…” she answered in a soft, cautious voice, digging her nails into his butt. Nathan's body jumped in response to her provocative caress. “That I've never been so turned on before.”

“That's good.”

He eased out of her as slowly as he had entered and watched her eyes round and darken until they were all pupil. She bit her lip. He clenched his teeth together to keep himself from slamming into her repeatedly and gaining the exquisite release his body craved. When he came, he wanted her with him.

The satisfying friction as he moved in and out of her blew huge, gaping holes in his willpower, but he started replaying multiplication tables in his head and held on.

She increased his tempo much sooner than he wanted. Her soft cries and the frantic movement of her hips destroyed the control he had fought so hard to maintain. The shattering of his heart began the moment he felt her release. Nathan gathered her into his arms and pounded his way to his own climax, enthralled by the way she kept pace with him. Together, they stormed into the brilliance of pleasure so acute he couldn't breathe.

As his name left her lips, as her fingers dug into his shoulders, as his chest tightened with the intensity of his emotions, he banded her to his body and shook in reaction, dazzled by their turbulent lovemaking.

In the aftermath of the fire, Nathan stroked a strand of hair away from her cheek and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, sensing that, at last, he'd found the woman who could curb his restless nature.

A
ccording to the digital clock on the nightstand, it was a quarter after five. Emma yawned. Falling asleep had been a mistake. Already she could feel herself falling under Nathan's spell. Spending the night and following that up with morning lovemaking would set a precedent Nathan would exploit to the fullest.

Although he hadn't mentioned marriage or even referred to an unofficial engagement between them last night, Emma knew his mind-set. He needed the deal with her father and would do whatever it took to persuade her to marry him, including seduce her limp and senseless over and over until she could refuse him nothing. But she had more immediate concerns.

Easing from beneath Nathan's arm proved difficult for several reasons.

Huge muscles were heavy.

His big naked body held as much temptation relaxed in sleep as it had aroused.

And he'd worn her out with the most incredible lovemaking she'd ever experienced.

As she swung her feet to the floor, Nathan stirred and reached toward her. She scooted off the bed and glanced over her shoulder, wondering if he'd awaken. He slumbered on, face half-buried in her pillow, his muscular torso sprawled across the space she'd so recently occupied. Ignoring the voice in her head encouraging her to wake him up for one last hurrah, Emma searched the dark room for her discarded clothes.

She nearly tripped over her skirt. Her bra lay three feet away. When had she kicked off her shoes? She paused to drape Nathan's pants across the foot of his bed. His shirt followed after she put the garment to her nose for a deep hit of the cologne he wore. The same scent emanated from her skin. She smiled, wondering if the hands he'd smoothed over every inch of her skin smelled like Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist.

A groan gathered in her throat. Why hadn't she honored the promises to herself and stayed out of Nathan's bed? Who was she kidding—the instant his mouth settled on hers, stealing her breath, demanding her surrender, she'd been putty in his hands. He'd wrung impassioned moans from her throat, sexy encouragement from her lips and uncontrolled writhing from her body. Her cheeks burned hot as she thought about all the things she had let him do.

She stared at the bed, eyeing the tangled sheets that bared his back and most of one butt cheek. Shockingly, the space between her thighs tingled. She bit down on her tender, well-kissed lips, fighting temptation. How could she possibly be ready for more?

Quit stalling. Get yourself dressed and get out
.

The urge to pause for one last look at the slumbering man fought with her practical side. Hadn't she already overindulged? Emma slipped on her lingerie and skirt, zipping it
on the short walk into his living room, and dangled her shoes by the straps as she made her way to the door.

As each mile of the taxi ride home took her farther away from Nathan, her body came down off a sensual high. She felt the first twinge of a withdrawal headache as she put her key in the lock. By the time she swung the door open, her nerves were showing distinct signs of exposed edges. She felt strung out and weary beyond words.

Flipping on the lights, she stared at the empty room. Adrenaline surged, banishing any fatigue. What the hell had happened to her stuff?

She advanced into her loft and stopped where her couch should have been. Her heart jumped in her chest. Next, she pushed open the door to her workroom and stared at the bare space. No equipment. No supplies and finished pieces. Half-dazed, she crossed the hall to check out her bedroom. Furniture. Clothes. Everything she owned. Gone.

Emma closed her eyes. Her fingers tightened into fists.

Nathan.

He'd lured her out for a romantic dinner with assurances that he wouldn't persuade or bully her to move out of the loft. He'd plied her with flirtatious conversation until she'd fallen back into bed with him. Emma growled. All the while his movers had been busy clearing out her things. He must have had a good laugh at her expense tonight. What an idiot she was.

Thank goodness it was too early to call Addison. Emma wanted nothing more than to run to her best friend, borrow a pair of pajamas and curl up on her couch to whine about Nathan. Three months ago she would have done just that.

Her father's belief that she lacked drive wasn't a notion he'd pulled out of thin air. As a pampered and spoiled heiress, Emma was never expected to accomplish anything. As a result, she'd never taken charge of her life, just drifted through it.

But her expectations for herself had changed. And if she
intended to produce $35,000 worth of jewelry, she would have to go to Nathan and demand her equipment back.

She dug her car keys out of her purse and marched out the door. At half past five o'clock in the morning, few cars were on the road as she sped through town on her way back to Nathan's condo. She didn't bother to call him again, not wanting him to know she was coming. By the time she pulled into his parking lot, she'd worked herself into a fine fury.

Standing outside his door, she listened to her pounding heart and some of the urgency left her. She wasn't good at confrontation. Probably because she'd spent so much of her childhood surrounded by it. Her parents fought all the time. Fire from her mother. Ice from her father.

Nathan answered the door almost before she lifted her finger from his doorbell. Dressed in pajama bottoms, his muscular chest looming bare and magnificent before her eyes, he leaned his forearm against the doorframe and looked her up and down. “Well, hello. Did you run out for coffee and doughnuts?”

That he continued to play games with her, after taking her to dinner under false pretenses and then making love to her as if she was the most important woman on earth, revived her anger.

“Where's my stuff?”

He stepped back and gestured her inside. “Some of it's in storage. Some of it's here.”

“I told you I didn't want to move.” She crossed the threshold and pulverized his grin with a hard look. “Not in here with you. Not anywhere.”

“Despite everybody telling you that staying in your place was a health hazard?” He shook his head.

She set her hands on her hips. “So you decided to steal all my stuff?”

“I didn't steal it.” His measured tones infuriated her as
he tugged her deeper into the condo. “I moved it so the contractors I hired could get to work.”

“You hired contractors?” she demanded, annoyed at how control over her life was slipping from her grasp. “It's my loft. I should be the one doing the hiring.” She narrowed her eyes at his easy shrug and trailed after him as he headed into the kitchen. The scent of brewing coffee made her nose twitch with interest despite herself. “And I don't understand why everything is gone. Surely they don't need all my furniture removed to clean up a mold problem.”

Nathan poured two cups of coffee and handed her one. “After leaving your loft yesterday, I realized that you can't sell it the way it is now.”

“Sell it?” Emma wondered if she'd just heard him properly. “Why would I want to do that?”

“Because after we're married we'll live here.”

The words
after we're married
reverberated through her head. He was taking a lot for granted. “I thought you understood that I'm not going to marry you because of some business deal.”

“But you are going to marry me.”

The man was insufferable.

“No, I'm not,” she fumed. “And I'm not moving in with you, either.”

He sipped coffee and watched her over the rim of the cup.

Emma stared back at him, matching his silence while her thoughts churned. How was she supposed to get all her pieces finished in time for the show? Then, it occurred to her that this had been his plan all along. If he stopped her from working, she wouldn't make enough to replace the money in her account and she'd be forced to marry him. Her heart skipped a beat. Was he that diabolical?

“Where's the equipment and supplies from my workroom?”

“In storage. Your clothes are in my guestroom.”

Hadn't he heard a word she said? “I'll stay with Addison until the mold is cleaned up, then I'm moving back into the loft. Call your contractors and cancel them. I'm not going to do any remodeling on the loft because I'm not going to sell it.” Her jaw hurt from clenching her teeth, but she managed to add, “I'll have someone in here either this afternoon or tomorrow to move my things out.”

“And where do you plan to work? You'd better not go back to the loft.”

“I'll find studio space I can rent.”

“You can work here.”

His offer was grudging at best. He didn't want her working at all. And Emma couldn't imagine getting anything done with his presence distracting her.

“You don't need to worry about me,” she said, and wished her words would convince him.

“How can I help it?”

“Easy. Just remind yourself that I'm not your responsibility.”

His dark eyebrows arched. “Not yet.”

“Not ever.”

“We'll see.”

 

Nathan realized that he'd been staring at the set of financials for half an hour without making any sense of the numbers. In fact, he'd been distracted all morning. After five days of searching, Emma had been unable to find space to work. Desperate and running short on time, she'd ungraciously reconsidered her refusal of his spare bedroom as her studio, but spent her nights at her friend's house.

Despite knowing that he was her last option, he'd been pleased that Emma had stayed within his grasp, even if she'd wrung a promise from him not to sabotage her jewelry or interfere with her workspace.

This meant the only way to keep her from working would be to distract her with kisses and lovemaking, but like the shoemaker's elves, she was both industrious and elusive. In the four days since she'd been working in his condo, he had yet to catch sight of her.

Every night when he arrived home, he went straight to the spare room where her equipment was set up and noticed new sketches pinned to the walls and glittering works in progress scattered across her worktable.

And the more jewelry she finished, the more likely it was that she would make good on her threat to sell enough at the show to meet her goal. He needed to slow her down. An impossible task with all the long hours he was working at rehashing the numbers for the venture with Montgomery Oil.

Maybe he should take work home. Lord knew he could use a break from the office. His brothers' negative attitudes were getting on his nerves more than ever. For the last week, he'd been as surly as a bear awakened in the middle of winter.

He checked his watch. He could head home for lunch and surprise her with a little afternoon delight. Decision made, he grabbed his keys and the tube containing the architect's plans for her loft that he'd commissioned. Anticipation kicked him hard as he headed for the door. He dodged the implication that not seeing Emma was what accounted for his foul mood, but it dogged his heels in a relentless bid for attention.

He was moving briskly down the hall when Sebastian called after him. “Nathan, got a minute?”

Hissing in exasperation, Nathan turned and spied his older brother standing just outside his office. Sebastian must have seen him going by. “Sure,” he said, retracing his steps. “What's up?”

“Max and I are heading out to meet with Lucas for a couple days.” Sebastian gestured Nathan into his room. “I wondered if you had any input for us before we go.”

Nathan noticed that he hadn't been included in the meeting. Resentment burned. They'd regret cutting him out of the decision-making process. He'd make sure of it. “I don't see the point. You won't like what I have to say.”

Sebastian's mouth tightened at Nathan's sarcasm, but he wasn't as reactive as Max. “Maybe you should come along and say it in person.”

Sebastian's offer surprised Nathan. Obviously, he and Max were still determined to persuade Lucas to sell his company, but it also appeared that they were willing to listen to Nathan's analysis of the business.

Or at least Sebastian was. Max hadn't voiced his opinion. But if Nathan could get one Case brother on his side, chances were the other one would come around in time. Divide and conquer.

Or was it possible that they were interested in finding some middle ground and starting a dialogue?

“When are you thinking of going?” Nathan asked, curious as to what his brothers were up to.

“We thought we'd go this week,” Sebastian said.

He really should stick around Houston and prevent Emma from having uninterrupted access to her equipment and supplies at his condo.

“Set up the meeting,” Nathan said. “Let's see what Lucas has to say.”

 

“Earth to Emma.”

Distantly she heard her name and blinked to redirect her focus from the necklace on the worktable. Nathan lounged in the doorway, his shoulder propped against the frame. Dressed in a navy suit, pale blue shirt and red tie, he looked every inch the powerful executive in his prime. Emma's traitorous pulse lunged like a racehorse from the starting gate.

She'd been very careful to avoid him, keeping the hours she spent at the condo short to leave for Addison's before
he arrived home. At first she hadn't wanted to run into him because she was still furious over the way he'd tricked her into moving out of her loft. Then, as her anger faded and the night she'd spent in his arms played repeatedly in her mind like a steamy foreign film, she'd steered clear of him out of a desire for sheer self-preservation.

She didn't trust herself to be alone in the condo with him and not succumb to his sizzling kisses again. Just the thought of him and her and an empty condo got her hot and bothered. He needed to believe that she wasn't going to fall for his winning charms and let him boss her around anymore.

Sifting through a pile of sapphires, she did her best to ignore the throb of awareness pulsing through her. If only he'd stop eyeing her as if she was a juicy apple he was dying to sink his teeth into. She almost groaned at her body's sharp reaction to the notion of his mouth on any part of her.