“It has nothing to do with your abilities, princess,” he chided. “No matter how much I might want you, I would never keep you in such a vital position if I didn’t believe you are the most highly qualified person to do the job.” He grimaced. “But we both know that I became your enemy the moment your father sold the business to me.”
“I felt—”
“Betrayed?”
She nodded. “Yes. And unworthy.” Her hands lifted to touch his broad chest, needing the feel of his solid form as the painful memories seared through her. “I fought so hard to earn his respect.”
Slowly he lowered his head, kissing her with a gentle care.
“I’m sorry.”
“For buying Angeli’s?”
“No,” he retorted with a blunt honesty. “If it hadn’t been me, your father would have sold to someone else.”
She winced. It was true.
As much as she’d wanted to blame Liam, deep inside she’d known she would never be a suitable replacement for Luc.
“Then what are you sorry for?”
His lips traced the line of her nose before sweeping over her brows, his touch offering an unexpected comfort even as a jolt of excitement clenched her stomach.
Astonishing, really.
She’d expected the heat. The passion. The breathtaking pleasure.
But never in a million years could she have suspected he could make her feel…cherished.
“That you were hurt when I took over the company and I have no way of making it better,” he said softly, his lips settling at the corner of her mouth.
“It’s not your fault.”
He stilled, slowly lifting his head as he absorbed the full implication of her confession.
“It’s not?”
“No.”
Their gazes tangled, both of them sensing something profound had just altered between them.
Then, feeling oddly vulnerable, Holly forced a smile to her lips.
“Don’t gloat.”
His fingers smoothed the long strands of her hair over her shoulder before trailing down her arms to grasp her hands.
“Never,” he assured her.
Holly believed him. Liam might tease and even torment on occasion, but he was never one to wallow in his own accomplishments.
“Luc warned me,” she admitted.
“Warned you about what?”
“That my father was destined to disappoint me.” She shrugged. “He said that Vigo Angeli had no interest in anyone but Vigo Angeli, and he was right. Nothing I’ve done has impressed him because he truly doesn’t care.”
He lifted her hand to press his lips to her fingers. “What about your mother?”
Holly had to battle her instinct to retreat from the blunt question.
Tory Sullivan had been twenty-one when she’d caught Vigo’s roving eye and become his mistress. She’d done her best to try to be a mother, but the truth was she didn’t want to be domesticated.
She enjoyed the lure of the bright lights and handsome men. Reading bedtime stories to her daughter was nothing but a bore as far as she was concerned.
Holly lowered her lashes, hiding her inner emotions.
“She never wanted a child, but she was smart enough to know that Vigo would pay if she kept me. I was a convenient meal ticket,” she said, struggling to keep the bitterness from her voice. Her childhood hadn’t been perfect, but it sure as hell was better than many kids had to endure.
He swore beneath his breath, pressing his lips to her forehead.
“Neither of them deserved to have you as a daughter.”
She gave a sudden shake of her head. Dammit, she was done with self-pity.
Time to put on her big girl panties and move on.
“I’m done,” she sharply announced.
Liam lifted his head to observe her with a brooding gaze. “What does that mean?”
“I officially retire my obsessive need to earn my father’s approval.”
He studied her for a long time before he pressed another kiss to her knuckles.
“Who knows what the future holds?” he said. “Perhaps someday Vigo will realize what he’s missing.”
She rolled her eyes.
Yeah, and she’d probably win the lottery.
Both had about the same odds of coming true.
She gave a lift of her shoulder. “Maybe, but I truly don’t care.”
“Hmm.” He didn’t look entirely convinced, but clearly accepting she was finished with the subject, he stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. “What would you like to do today?”
Her mouth went dry as desire rushed through her like a wildfire.
She knew exactly what she wanted.
A soft bed and this man naked.
It didn’t matter that they’d spent the entire night sating their need. Or that there was a voice in the back of her mind warning that her entire relationship with this man had fundamentally altered during the past twenty-four hours.
She wanted him.
End of story.
Heat flushed her cheeks as she cleared her throat.
“What do you mean?”
His brows arched, a teasing grin curving his lips.
“If you could choose to do anything, what would it be?”
He knew. The aggravating beast. He knew exactly what she was thinking, but he was going to make her say the words.
Instead, she deliberately glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Don’t you have to work?”
***
Liam allowed his hands to lower, cupping her ass so he could tug Holly against his hardening cock.
He’d sensed the second that Holly’s thoughts had turned to sex.
It’d been visible in the darkening of her cognac eyes and the faint flush on her cheeks.
And he was more than happy to indulge her simmering desire.
Hell, happy didn’t begin to express his eagerness.
But while he was all for a day spent indulging in their mutual need, he knew that he wanted more.
He had her body. Now he wanted her heart.
“I think the boss will give me the day off,” he teased.
Almost as if sensing the sudden intensity of his emotions, Holly began an instinctive retreat.
“Actually I should—”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
His gaze skimmed down to the curve of her breasts, lingering on the nipples that hardened beneath the feral heat of his inspection.
“I don’t want to know what you should do. I want to hear what you want to do,” he said, his voice thick.
She licked her lips. “You could tell me about your plans for expansion.”
He groaned, his gaze locked on her mouth.
He’d felt those soft lips stroking over his chest…pleasuring his nipples.
How would they feel locked around his cock?
Paradise.
He was forced to clear his throat. “Our plans,” he corrected. “And we can discuss them when we’re at work. Today is for enjoyment.” He pressed her hard against his thick erection. “Tell me what you want.”
She bit her bottom lip, blatantly torn between desire and the fear of what he was truly demanding.
“I don’t know.”
He smiled. “Admit that you want to ravish me.”
She trembled, her eyes darkening to gold. “Did you really just say ravish?”
“Okay.” Without warning, he grasped the hem of her shirt and tugged it over her head. No bra. Perfect. “Admit that you want to make mad, passionate love to me.”
She quivered as his hands cupped the soft weight of her breasts in his hands, his thumbs teasing her nipples to hard nubs.
“Sex,” she breathed.
“No.” He held her wary gaze, refusing to let her diminish what was between them. “When we’re together, we make love,” he insisted, his voice fierce. “Love.”
Predictably, she paled at his blunt confession
.
He smiled wryly. He’d made no effort to hide his obsession with her. Or his desire for a relationship.
Still, she’d been determined to disregard his interest as a shallow sexual attraction.
“Liam,” she finally managed to choke out. “You can’t be serious.”
“Of course I can.” He shrugged, deciding to go all in. He was a gambler, after all. “The men in my family are notorious for recognizing the women they intend to marry at first sight.”
Her breath rasped loudly through the air, her eyes wide.
“Oh…shit,” she rasped.
“I’m not trying to pressure you,” he assured her. “I just want you to know where I want this to go.”
“And if I’m not ready?” she husked, shuddering as his hands glided down her bare back.
He brazenly tugged down the shorts, a growl wrenching from his throat at the tiny thong that had a Playhouse emblem directly over her clit.
Sweet.
“Then I’ll wait until you are,” he said, his voice distracted as he gave a tug on her thong and watched it float to the floor. A smile curved his lips as she gasped in need. “I have no doubt you’ll eventually realize we’re destined to be together.”
She shivered, heat blazing through her eyes as she watched him unbutton his shirt and shrug it off.
“Arrogant,” she accused.
“Confident,” he countered. “I know when a woman wants me.”
He kicked off his shoes, swiftly ridding himself of the rest of his clothing.
Over the past twelve months he’d tortured himself with fantasies of making love to this woman in every room of his home.
He intended to start with this office.
Sensual anticipation flowed through his veins like warm honey as he grasped her around the waist and carried her to the nearby desk. Perching her on the edge, he tugged her legs apart, his body clenching as she instinctively arched her back in silent invitation.
“Fine, we’re sexually compatible,” she conceded.
He shook his head.
Was she kidding?
He craved her with an intensity that was terrifying.
And it didn’t matter how many times they made love. It would never ease his need for her.
“It’s not just compatible,” he growled, his hands exploring the inner skin of her thighs. “We set each other on fire.”
Holly studied him with an unconsciously vulnerable expression.
“Sex isn’t the same as love.”
Liam gave a low groan, pressing his lips to the pulse beating at the base of her throat.
“You think I don’t know the difference?” he rasped. “Trust me, I wouldn’t have spent the past year in hell if it’d just been sex.”
“Trust.”
Slowly he pulled back, his expression somber. “Yes, princess. I’m asking for your trust.”
“I’m not sure I can. I…” She struggled to form the word. “I can’t bear to be hurt. Not again.”
“I get it, I truly do,” he told her. “Just give me a chance, princess.”
His mind fogged as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands flat on the desk as she studied him from beneath half-lowered lashes.
“Enough talking, Mr. Conner.” Her smile was pure female temptation. “I’m ready for some action.”
Oh…hell yeah.
“Sweet Holly,” he breathed, feeling oddly unnerved as he buried his face in the curve of her neck and began a thorough exploration of her naked body. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
Nuzzling at her throat, he allowed one hand to linger on her breast while the other blazed a path down the flat planes of her stomach.
She hissed in pleasure, her head dropping back as his searching fingers at last found her clit.
“I think it’s more likely you’re going to be the death of me,” she complained as he teased her tender bud of flesh, his touch too light to bring her to climax.
He shifted his head to suck her nipple, even as he slid one finger into the damp entrance of her body. She moaned in encouragement, her legs tightening around his waist.
Death suddenly seemed a reasonable price to pay to feel this woman shuddering against him, Liam decided.
Concentrating on the sensation of his finger penetrating her with a slow thrust, he used his teeth on the tip of her nipple.
Holly made a small sound of pleading, her body bowing as if she was nearing her orgasm.
Needing to feel her convulsing around his cock, he reached down to position himself, entering her with one powerful thrust.
“I love you, princess,” he breathed, lifting his hips until he was buried so deep inside that it felt as if they were truly one.
“Liam,” she groaned, her voice unsteady as she met his fierce gaze.
A tender rush of emotion flooded through him at the tentative hope that he could see shimmering in the depths of her cognac eyes.
It was the sort of feeling that made males sacrifice everything to hold on to.
“Believe in me, Holly,” he groaned, pumping into her with a slow, measured pace. “Believe in us.”
“I…”
“Shh.” He halted her protest, searing away the words with a kiss that came from his very soul. “Just let me love you.”
CHAPTER SIX
Holly struggled to catch her breath as Liam rolled to the side, gathering her into his arms.
“Damn,” he growled, pressing his lips to her damp forehead. “That was…mind-blowing.”
It had been.
Over the past four hours they’d made love in Liam’s office, the kitchen, and now in the massive bed that consumed a large part of the master bedroom.
And each time had only increased her pleasure.
It was insane.
With any other man she would have assumed that it was because he was discovering what turned her on.
God knew that his touch was magic.
But if she was being honest she would admit it wasn’t skill that made her heart pound and her body melt with need. It was his raw emotion that added an indefinable beauty to each kiss, each caress.
An emotion that she could no longer deny was echoed deep inside her.
She loved this man.
And she had from the beginning.
Easily sensing her sudden tension, Liam lifted his head to study her with a searching gaze.
“Holly?”
“I…” The words stuck in her throat.
It was all too soon.
Being jilted. Tumbling into bed with Liam.
Having her heart stripped bare.
She needed time to adjust.
Time and a very large prescription for Prozac.
With a rueful smile, Liam dropped a light kiss on her lips and scooted out of the bed.
“I need a shower,” he said. “Why don’t you call down and order lunch from room service?”
Forcing her tense muscles to relax, she sucked in a deep breath.
There was no reason to freak out.
So, she had…feelings.
Intense, potentially life-altering feelings.
But in this minute she didn’t have to worry about anything but enjoying her day.
And the view.
Especially the view, she silently acknowledged, her gaze taking a slow, appreciative inspection of his naked body.
Heat combusted in the pit of her stomach, her hands tingling at the memory of exploring those hard, chiseled muscles.
Damn but he was fine.
She cleared her throat. No mauling the delectable male.
Not until she had food in her rumbling belly.
“Do I actually get to eat this time?” she lightly teased.
Something that might have been relief flared through his eyes before he was sending her a teasing smile.
“I make no promises, princess.”
He headed into the attached bathroom, and scrambling off the mattress, Holly grabbed her clothes and rushed
into the guest room to take a quick shower.
She didn’t doubt for a minute that Liam would happily have welcomed her into his own shower, but there was no way they’d ever get to lunch if she got her hands on him.
With a grimace she pulled on her wrinkled shorts and top.
Very soon she was going to return to her apartment and get her own clothes. Then these were going in the trash.
Calling down to the kitchen, she ordered two club sandwiches and a plate of fries for Liam and a side salad for herself, then, moving to gaze out the glass wall that overlooked the Strip, she deliberately kept her thoughts from straying beyond the penthouse.
At some point she was going to have to deal with the wedding gifts that were piled in her living room, and cancelling the tickets for the Bahamas cruise she’d booked as a surprise for their honeymoon. But those were worries for the future.
For now she intended to enjoy each moment as it happened.
The chime of a bell had her arching her brows in surprise. That was fast. Like, sonic fast.
Of course, being the owner of the hotel no doubt leapfrogged your lunch order to the top of the stack.
Moving across the floor, she pushed the button to open the elevator doors, her stomach growling at the thought of snatching a few fries off Liam’s plate before he got out of the shower.
A fine plan, except for the fact it wasn’t room service who came storming out of the elevator. Instead it was a dark-haired man with bronzed skin and black eyes that were smoldering with an unmistakable fury.
Luc Angeli.
Her half-brother.
Belatedly noticing her gawking at him from the edge of the elevator, Luc came to a halt midstride, his eyes widening in shock.
“Holly?”
“Luc?” She gave a slow shake of her head. When her brother had walked away from Angeli, he’d sold all his shares of stock as well. Just another thing that had pissed off Vigo. So why would he be in Liam’s penthouse? “What are you doing here?”
“Me?” he growled, his dark brows pulled together in a scowl. Even casually dressed in jeans and a cotton shirt, he oozed arrogance. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She planted her hands on her hips, meeting him glare for glare.
She’d be damned if she let him make her feel ashamed.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m about to have lunch with Liam,” she said.