The Millionaire Meets His Match (7 page)

They left the elevator at the top floor and Adam stopped at a door halfway down the hall. Using a card key, he opened the door and held it for her to walk inside.

“Oh,” she said on a quick intake of breath as she looked around the large king-size hotel room, then walked directly to the stone fireplace. A fire had been set recently and was going strong, radiating warmth throughout the room.

There were throw pillows piled on the wide stone hearth for cozying up close by the fire, and the mantel held a sweet display of old-fashioned portraits in small Victorian frames. Hanging on the walls on either side of the mantel were vintage tinted photographs of mountain and lake scenes.

“So pretty,” she murmured, then turned away from the fireplace and noticed the carved wood king-size bed for the first time.

“Wow.” It was a masterpiece, covered in richly brocaded silk with a colorful cluster of pillows. Whole logs made up the frame and headboard, and tall, braided willow branches acted as bedposts. The willows were adorned by gauzy drapes that looped from one branch to the next, giving the room a light, ethereal feel.

The room smelled of pinecones and forest rain. She breathed it all in.

“I'm in awe,” she said, spinning around to see more. “I love it.”

“I'm glad.” He leaned against the sliding-glass door leading to the balcony. His arms were folded across his chest and he looked relaxed and confident and too sexy for her own good, Trish thought.

He unlocked the glass door and stepped outside. “I know it's cold, but you should come out and see the view.”

She joined him, grateful for the chilly air. Maybe it would cool off the heat washing through her. Adam stood at the rail, staring out at the lake and the mountain rising on the opposite side—dark, vast and mysterious. The moon had risen and was reflected in the water's surface.

“It takes my breath away,” she said. “I wish we could stay for a week.”

“Do you?”

“Who wouldn't?” she demurred. “It's lovely.”

“So are you.”

She looked away. “No, I'm not.”

“You take my breath away,” he said slowly, his dark eyes shining with intent.

She looked up at him, in time to see him lower his head to hers. In time to tell herself to stop this.

“Adam, I'm not sure…” Trish's thoughts scattered as he covered her mouth with his. His lips were soft yet demanding and the thrill was instant, the warmth so all-consuming, she wondered if she might go up in flames.

“You're not sure what?” Adam murmured against her skin as his mouth traveled along her jawline.

Trish barely heard him through the cloud of sensation fogging her mind. “What?”

His deep chuckle reverberated as his hand cupped the nape of her neck. “I'm going to kiss you again.”

She was aware of her heart pounding rhythmically in her chest as she pressed her hand against him. “You shouldn't.”

He met her gaze. “You don't want me to kiss you?”

“Whether I want you to or not isn't the point,” she whispered.

“Then it's settled,” he said, and returned to ravage her mouth.

The vague thought that nothing was settled flitted away. A soft moan escaped her and her knees nearly crumpled as his tongue urged her to open for him. She obliged him, wanting to taste him, wanting to feel his touch everywhere on her body. He was all heat and hardness as he pressed against her. The world around her dissolved and all that mattered was his mouth on hers, his hands gripping her backside as he aroused and devoured her.

“Oh, Adam, I…”

“I want to make love with you, Trish,” he said, his dark blue eyes gleaming.

She gulped and felt the last of her resolve drain away. “I—I want that, too, Adam.”

“I'm glad,” he said. “It's cold. Let's go inside.”

He took her hand and led her back inside and slid the door closed. Still holding her hand, he walked to the bed, where he stopped, kissed her again with slow deliberation, then released her only to pick up his jacket and tuck it under his arm.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I'm saying good night.”

She couldn't have heard him right. “You're what?”

“Saying good night,” he said, cupping her cheek in the palm of his hand and stroking her skin with his thumb. “And thanking you for a fantastic evening.”

He kissed her again and she met him with fervor and a need she'd never experienced before.

“But…but you can't go,” she said, still not believing him. How could he get them both so wound up only to walk away? How could he kiss her, tell her he wanted to make love with her and then leave?

“Believe me, I don't want to,” he said, resting his forehead on hers and staring into her eyes. “But I also don't want to rush you into something you might regret later.”

She almost groaned, knowing she should be grateful for his thoughtfulness. Knowing she should appreciate that he was willing to take it slow. Knowing that she didn't want him to leave.

“But I warn you that the next time we kiss,” Adam said, skimming his lips against hers, “it won't stop there.”

He pulled back to meet her gaze. “And there
will
be a next time.”

She blinked, stunned into silence by his words.

“Sweet dreams, sweetheart,” he said, drawing her close. His hands skimmed down her back to her hips as his mouth hovered an inch from hers. She parted her lips in invitation but instead of kissing her, he whispered, “Until next time.”

Then he opened the door and walked out, leaving her dazed and aching with need.

I
must be out of my mind,
Adam thought as the plane soared above the mountains and headed for home. He'd had her just where he wanted her and hadn't made a move. And though he could stand back and marvel at his own inner strength, he had to question whether he'd made a mistake or not. His body was still clamoring for her despite knowing that she was trying to play him.

Now, as he watched Trish squeeze her eyes shut and clutch his hand, Adam wondered if it was indeed inner strength or just plain
stupidity
that had caused him to walk away from her. Last night's kiss had proven that Trish wanted him as much as he wanted her. Sure, maybe she was a gold digger, but he didn't think she'd been faking the need he'd seen in her eyes. And if the look in her eyes hadn't been enough, she'd actually said so.
Out loud,
he reminded himself, replaying the moment over and over in his head. His memory was
perfect, dammit. He could recall with absolute clarity the scent of her. The feel of her. The shine in her eyes as she looked up at him. And he could hear her whispered voice echoing in his mind.

I want that, too,
she'd said, when he told her he wanted to make love with her.

I want that, too.

So, was he deaf, as well as stupid? She'd
wanted
him. And what had he done? He'd walked away. As a show of strength. To prove that he was his own man and to show the world that no one but Adam Duke would determine his own future. Certainly not some cute-as-hell gold digger. And definitely not his mother.

But what had he gotten for his troubles? A sleepless night, an aching body and a temper on the edge of snapping. Why the hell did it have to be Trish James who appealed to him on every level?

He'd walked away to prove that he wasn't the kind of man who would roll over and play dead just because Trish James said she
wanted
him.

“So how's that whole ‘determine your own future' thing working for you?” Adam muttered under his breath. Then he shook his head, thoroughly disgusted. “It's not working well at all.”

Because he hadn't determined anything, he told himself. In making his choice to thwart his mother's matchmaking attempts, he'd been
reacting,
not acting. He hadn't made the choice he'd wanted to make. He'd made the only one he
could
make. So, really, his interfering mother and the gold digger she'd set on his scent were still in charge. And the knowledge of that was enough to kick his determination into high gear. There was no way they would win this game. No way at all.

“Did you say something?” Trish asked, her eyes fluttering open.

“No,” he said, irritated that she'd caught his muttering. “Just thinking out loud.”

She nodded, then looked down at their hands and carefully pulled hers away. “Sorry. But thanks for the hand-holding. Again.”

He refused to acknowledge that he missed the feel of her hand in his. Clearly, he was still wound too tightly.

“Whatever gets us off the ground,” he said, smiling though his jaw was tense enough to crack walnuts.

“It seems to work.” She smiled shyly, then didn't seem to know what to do next, so she pulled out her notes from yesterday, opened her laptop and began typing.

He watched her slim, graceful hands strike the keys, then glanced up to see her squint as she studied her notes. Absorbed in her work, she began to nibble at her bottom lip in concentration, and Adam had the most maddening urge to pull her into his arms and nibble that lip for her. Dragging her off to join the Mile-High Club probably wouldn't be the most professional way to start the business day, but at this point he really didn't care.

The jet leveled off and Adam forced himself to open his briefcase and get some work done. If he could focus on upcoming concerns, maybe his mind would stop wandering to Trish. He pulled out the documents he needed to study for a meeting later this afternoon and tried to concentrate on them. But it was impossible with Trish sitting so close to him. He glanced over and saw her staring at her computer screen, now filled with her notes from yesterday's survey with the ADA lawyer. She looked fresh and businesslike this morning in a blue-
gray suit and a simple white shirt. She hadn't pulled her hair back so it hung loose and thick and wavy around her shoulders and she wore some sultry perfume that wafted into his brain and turned his thoughts to soggy oatmeal.

Who was he trying to fool? There's no way he was going to get any work done. He wanted her more now than he had the night before, which he wouldn't have thought possible. Now that he'd tasted her, he knew it was only a matter of time before he would have all of her.

A matter of time? No. He wanted her now. Wanted his hands on her curvaceous breasts, wanted his mouth on every single inch of her skin. He was rampant at the image of those long, shapely legs wrapped around him. Muttering a harsh expletive under his breath, he subtly adjusted himself in his chair.

He would have her tonight, of that he was certain. There would be no walking away from her this time.

With that settled, Adam ruthlessly squelched his desire for Trish and forced himself to get down to the business of running his company.

 

“This has got to be the longest day in history,” Trish muttered as she sat at her desk later that afternoon. She'd been trying all day to forget about the night before, forget about that stunning kiss and focus on her job.

Earlier, she'd actually considered claiming she was ill and going home. But if she'd gone home, she'd just be staring at her four walls and slowly driving herself insane. But being here at the office, so close to Adam and not being able to do anything about it, was driving her batty.

“And just what would you do about it if you could?”
she asked herself bitterly. “He doesn't want you, remember? You were practically begging him to make love with you and he walked out.”

Granted, she didn't have much experience in making love, or with men in general, for that matter. But she was fairly certain that having the man walk out after the woman said she was all fired up and ready to go was not a good sign.

She cringed at the memory of her puckering up and practically begging him to kiss her before he left her room last night. But no. Instead of kissing her, he'd whispered, “Next time,” then walked out.

What had he meant? Next time? Next time when? Tonight? Tomorrow? Next
year?
And why did she care? She wasn't here to be romanced. But in spite of her best-laid plans and against her better judgment, she wanted to be.

Needless to say, she hadn't slept well at all last night, despite the beautiful room and that plush bed.

Now she wondered, not for the first time, whether she should just quit her job with Adam Duke and deal with the pain of losing her home and her grandmother in some other way. She had to face the fact that the man she'd been seeking revenge from, the man who had ruined her life and destroyed her grandmother's dream, no longer stirred up the same anger and resentment inside her.

No, that man stirred up something very different inside her now.

“Oh, my goodness,” Trish said, as tendrils of lust radiated through the pit of her stomach. She was in very deep trouble if simply thinking about the man could turn her insides to jelly.

Trish forced herself to remember that she was being
paid to work here and that's just what she needed to do. If nothing else, it would keep her from feeling sorry for herself. There was nothing worse than a pity party for one.

Bouncing up from her chair, she gathered a stack of documents that needed to be copied and carried them to the copier. For the next three hours, she buried herself in work, typing documents and letters, making copies, running to the mailroom. Thankfully, the work kept all her troubling thoughts from circling over and over in her mind.

The next time she looked up from her computer, Adam was staring at her from his doorway. “Do you mind staying late tonight? We've got some extra work to take care of.”

“No, I don't mind,” she said. “I'd planned on it. Shall I order dinner?”

“In a minute,” he said. “Can you come into my office first?”

“Of course.” It would give her a chance to tell him what she'd been thinking about all day.

He sat on the edge of his desk as she approached.

“I want to thank you for everything,” she said tentatively. “Dinner last night was wonderful, the resort is magnificent and, um, I hope you'll accept my apology for what happened, you know, after.”

Adam studied her for several long seconds, his face an expressionless mask. “No.”

Okay, she hadn't expected that. Couldn't he see how hard it was for her to humiliate herself in front of him?
Again?
As confused as she was by his reaction, she was also a little steamed. For heaven's sake, she was apologizing to him, the least the man could do was be gracious about it.

“No?” Her eyes narrowed in puzzlement. “You won't accept my apology? But…you can't just say no.”

“Yes, I can.” He pushed away from the desk and approached her. He was so close and his look was so focused on her that for a moment, she thought he might kiss her again, right there in his office. And however crazy it was to think it, it was even crazier to hope he would do it. Which made her wonder just how unhinged she'd become.

But instead of kissing her, he took hold of her hand and led her to the sitting area at the far end of his office.

When they were both seated on the soft burgundy leather couch, Adam squeezed her hand. “Are you apologizing for our kiss last night?”

She couldn't meet his gaze but instead concentrated on an intriguing spot on the wall beyond his left shoulder. “I behaved completely unprofessionally. I can't even believe I did that. You should probably fire me, but maybe we could just move on and forget it ever happened.”

“If anyone should apologize, it's me,” he told her, dropping her hand and standing up. “I'm your boss. You don't owe me anything.”

He pulled her to her feet, took her hands in his and held them tightly. “I should apologize, but I'm not going to.”

“You're not?” She blinked at him. This wasn't going the way she'd expected it to.

“No. Because I'm not sorry at all. I really liked kissing you and I'd love to do it again, but I'll understand if you don't want to.”

“Oh, but I do,” she said in a rush, then felt her cheeks
burn. Very smooth, Trish, she told herself. Burble over him like a high school girl talking to the football star.

“I'll understand,” he repeated quickly as his mouth spread into a grin. “I'll be extremely irritable and I'll have to take a cold shower or two, but I'll understand.”

She breathed in, then out, slowly. “You'll understand.”

“That's right. I won't like it, but you say no and this is done. Here. Now.”

She pulled her hands away and tried to gather her thoughts. All she had to do was say no. It was up to her. He wanted her, just as she'd hoped. And she wanted him desperately, despite knowing what kind of man he was. Despite knowing it was a huge mistake. But, first, she had to say something.

“Adam, it's important that you know that I've never done that before. That is, I mean, I hope you don't think I'm…” She exhaled heavily and waved her hand in exasperation. “Oh, you know what I mean.”

He laughed softly. “Are you trying to say you don't usually kiss the boss?”

She raised her chin and met his gaze. “Of course I don't.”

He gazed at her with that crooked, boyish grin of his and she felt another unwelcome spark burst into flame in her belly. She reminded herself that she was flirting with the enemy, but it didn't help douse the flames. She wanted him. She knew better, knew she should stand up and walk out right then, but she couldn't. She wasn't going anywhere.

“Say no and we're done. But if you don't say it, Trish,” he whispered, lifting one hand to skim her hair back from her face, “then there's no stopping once we start.”

“I don't want to stop,” she confessed, and closed her eyes as his fingertips trailed across her cheek.

He pulled her tight against him and covered her mouth completely in a hot, open-mouthed kiss that overwhelmed and inflamed her.

He held the nape of her neck firmly, keeping her close as their tongues tangled and parried in a wildly sensual paso doble. Trish met his passion with her own ardent desire, ignoring the voice in her head that warned her that if she wanted to survive,
she should walk away from Adam Duke, now.

But how could she walk away when she was already lost in this sweeping rush of sensation and wanting? Already lost in the softness of his lips that belied the strength and confidence of his lean, hard body. He pressed her against his solid chest, causing her nipples to quiver and harden.

Oh, God, no, she wouldn't walk away.

“Adam, I…” She couldn't complete the thought but it didn't matter as he seemed to anticipate her every want.

“I know,” he whispered, and laid her down on the wide couch. He covered her body with his and his mouth claimed hers with renewed urgency. His taste filled her senses, his taut body tempted hers. She could feel him lengthen and harden against her thigh and she wanted all of it, all of him.

She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck at the same time as his hand moved to cup her breast, drawing a soft moan from deep in her throat. He began to unbutton her blouse while his lips nipped and kissed their way along her jaw to her ear, then down her neck.

He pushed himself up and straddled her, staring at
her with a heated intensity that somehow gave her the courage to act more boldly than she felt. He watched intently as she eased her blouse off, then began to unhook her bra.