Sin and the Millionaire (5 page)

Even over the aromas of whatever it was she'd prepared for any one of his many functions, her scent was distinguishable. Orchids and pineapple. And if he could get her to see they were meant to be together, he'd take her somewhere she could smell the real thing. Somewhere where he could finally make love to her. She was so close he could nibble on her neck.

Impatient as he knew her to be, she tapped her wrist. He didn't know how long they'd have to stay under his desk, and honestly, he didn't care. He pressed his lips to her ear. “We'll know when he leaves,” he whispered and watched her shiver. His eyes drifted shut as he imagined how else he could make her react that way. Damn, they'd be good together. No one could tell him otherwise.

His attraction to her hadn't started out as physical, even though now every time he looked at her sweet little body, he wanted her. She'd made him laugh, and most of all made him laugh at himself, when the idea of anyone else laughing infuriated and humiliated him. She even went to Comic-Con with him and had been too busy teasing him mercilessly about the things he found cool to notice every guy in the place checking her out. Unlike Victoria, who would never step into nerd heaven. Not only would she notice men looking, but she'd soak it up. No, Lizzy was different. He pressed in closer, pretending to tuck his feet further in, shifting them both deeper under the desk. Then, as if she'd known he was thinking dirty thoughts, Lizzy gave a barely perceptible squeal, clamping her hands over her mouth. Thankfully a deep
Live long and prosper
came over the speakers, indicating Harris had left the floor.

“He's gone,” he said.

Lizzy wiggled, squeezing her right arm down her side. She lifted her hip and drew out an earring. She blew out a breath. “Holy Hannah that hurt. What's this?”

He took the earring from her hand and looked at it closely. “It's a diamond stud.”

“Really? Huh, so that's what they look like. Us poor girls only get Zirconieums,” she said in a very hick accent, deliberately mispronouncing the word.

“Sarcasm is unbefitting you.”

“But it's funny.” She smirked. “Of course it's a diamond, dumbass. What's it doing under your desk?”

“I'm not sure. None of the women on staff wear stuff like this.” Lizzy didn't wear any jewelry. None that he ever saw. “How come you don't wear jewelry?”

“Accidents happen. I don't take chances on anything falling into my food. Plus jewelry attracts dirt. Unhygienic.”

It was shame. He glanced down at her neck, imagining a fine gold chain with a single drop diamond pendant over all that creamy skin. The perfect backdrop. He licked his lips, picturing running his tongue over her earlobe, down her collarbone. The pulse in her neck jumped, her breasts rising and falling as if her breath had quickened. Had it? Could she be reacting to him as he was to her or was this wishful thinking on his part? There was only one way to find out. He looked up and saw her beautiful green eyes staring at him. Her lips parted and before he lost his nerve, he kissed her. And every nerd in the world jumped up and cheered. She kissed
him
back.

He was a smart man, a very, very smart man, but even he couldn't have predicted just how good her mouth felt against his. But not even that, which in and of itself blew his mind, but she hadn't pulled away. He was kissing her and she was not only letting him, but that was definitely her hand on his cheek.
What the hell
. He pulled her face closer to his. If he died, right here and right now, he'd die a miserable man because knowing what he now knew, he wanted more. Then, as eventually she would, Lizzy drew back.

“What are we doing?” she asked, her breath deliciously labored. If that didn't stroke a man's ego, nothing did.

“Kissing you,” he said, hoping humor would dowse any anger she might be building.

“I am beginning to seriously doubt that IQ everybody claims you have.”

At least she wasn't mad. “Well, my lips are on yours, yours on mine,” he added, just in case she hadn't realized she'd been kissing him back. “That's kissing.” And he kissed again, simply to prove his point.

“Why?” she asked, her forehead touching his.

Because I love you
was the first thing that came to mind, but he kept that to himself. He opted for a different approach. “Did you like kissing me?” It was a risky move, but he had to make her see or at least think about being with him.

“Did you like kissing me?” she asked.

Figures his bright idea would backfire. Maybe his IQ wasn't that high. Did he tell her the truth? His fortune had been with one part timing, one part genius, two parts luck. Why stop now? “Yes. Very much.”

“Me too,” she said.

And if he could've jumped without hitting his head, he would've. “Then why are we stopping?” He leaned in to kiss her again, but she put a hand on his chest.

“We're under your desk.”

“Oh, right.” He crawled out from under the desk, then helped her to her feet. Waiting patiently for all of three seconds, he pressed his mouth to hers again, this time crushing her body to his. Now, if he'd been thinking rationally he might think twice about where his hand had decided to wander. As it was, he liked the fact that it lay squarely over her ass. And didn't it feel great. Better than he'd imagined, and he'd imagined plenty.

For the first time in his life, he felt like not only a man, but a man worthy of a woman like Lizzy. He wanted to beat his chest and announce it to the world. Hell, he wanted to strip her naked and take her right here, right now on his desk. Screw everyone else. What did he care what people thought? There was only one person that mattered and she was in his arms, her lush body plastered up against his, making him want her more and more. And he was finally going to have her.

Chapter Five

Lizzy tried to push past the sweet, oh-so-sweet, lusty haze clouding her thoughts. But when his tongue swept over hers, she gave up. This was wrong. Very, very wrong. But at the moment she neither cared nor remembered why. Damn, the man could kiss and kiss and kiss. She liked kissing him and she groaned when she realized he liked kissing her. He really,
really
liked kissing her, so much so that she barely noticed being pushed up and onto his desk. Damn the man could kiss. Wait, she was repeating herself.
Oh God
, was she really letting him kiss her?

This was Duncan. Sure she had naughty dreams about him but—her mind went numb as his thumb stroked her nipple. She arched into his hand. She couldn't help herself, just as she couldn't stop her legs from wrapping around his hips. Friction, she needed friction. Even if her brain didn't, her body knew what she wanted. It was why she didn't stop him when he reached down between them, grabbed the bottom of her tank and pulled it over her head. Not to be outdone, she did the same to his, and when his skin touched hers, every one of her nerve endings ignited from the pleasure.

“Lizzy, oh God, Lizzy.” Duncan nipped at her throat, sucked on her neck.

He pressed her to him with such intensity, his hands everywhere and all at once, that she was certain she'd automatically combust any minute now. Those low guttural groans she heard were coming from her.
Really?
She enjoyed a man making her feel good just as much as the next healthy woman, but these were the sounds of a desperate woman. Was she desperate? Again he reached between, only this time it was to unbutton and unzip her jeans. And when his hand slipped into her pants, between her thighs, she knew. Yes, she was desperate. Desperate for him.

Like a pot left boiling too long, emotions spilled over, sizzling but not extinguishing the flame. Had she been telling herself what she wanted to hear? What she needed to hear? She conceded to finding him attractive but wouldn't allow herself to entertain anything else. To do so would mean to admit she cared for him, a path she couldn't walk. But damn, he felt
so
good. So good that she said nothing when he slipped her jeans off her hips and down her legs. Was she really going to do this? Was this what she wanted—him?

She kissed him back in the same way he kissed her, with an urgency to fill a need she'd refused to acknowledge. His marriage had been incomprehensible to her and he'd mourned a woman who hadn't deserved him. She'd wanted to ask him what the hell he'd been thinking, if he'd been thinking at all. Then she'd seen him change. He'd come into his own, grown to be an even better man. And the confidence he'd exuded had made him sexy as hell. And this sexy man had her legs spread wide and her body nearly naked. He quickly disposed of the rest of his clothes, standing before her nude, a lion ready to pounce, and she was his meal. She'd never felt more wanted in her life, or more afraid. Not of him, never of him, but herself.

Maybe it was the heated gleam in his eyes as he peeled off her bra, the angle of his lips as one corner tilted in a feral smile when he stripped her of her panties. Or maybe, just maybe, she simply wanted him. Whatever the reason, when next he pressed his open mouth to hers she stopped thinking and started feeling.

Afterward, it was weird getting dressed in front of each other. She wasn't sure what it all meant, but Duncan couldn't get the wrong idea. She liked him, yes. More than liked him. It didn't mean there could be more. Business and emotional stuff didn't belong together. Maybe others could draw a line and stay on their side, but she didn't think she could. Not with Duncan. With Duncan… She could fall in love. And if she thought she didn't belong in his mansion, she sure didn't belong in his high-techy world with all these smart people.

The muscles in his back stretched as he bent over to pick up his jeans. She licked her lips as one strong leg and then the other disappeared into denim. There was something about the way he moved that she never noticed… mmm… more like never allowed herself to notice. He always moved with purpose. Like now, he didn't go looking for his shirt. He knew exactly where it was. It was cat-like and sexy as hell. For a self-proclaimed nerd, he had this quiet confidence. Did he know it? One of the smartest man she'd ever met, he hadn't assumed the worst about Harris until it hit him square in the face. Not because
he
wasn't bright enough to see it but because he was loyal. Brains and loyalty, two of the qualities that had made Duncan give him her entire savings.

“Duncan, I'm not sure what just happened.”

He slipped on his shoes, then pulled her into his arms. “We just had sex,” he said. “Great sex.”

She considered making a smartass comeback, her go-to when things got awkward. But she wasn't going to play games. Not about this and never with Duncan. She wiggled out of his arms and took a seat on his desk, unable to block out what they'd just done on it. She cleared her throat.

“Duncan,” she began again, praying they could go back to the way things were. Believing they should go back to the way things were. “I don't want to make it awkward for us.”

“Awkward how?”

“Well, for starters you and I are embarking on a business together. We should have some level of professionalism.”

“And we will,” he agreed. “But that's business. This”—he indicated the two of them with his hand—“this is personal.”

“You can't mix the two.” What exactly was he suggesting?

“We won't. Business is business. Personal is personal.”

“This,” she said, mimicking him with her own hand. “This was great. But it can't happen again.” Not if they wanted to remain business partners, and she was in far too deep to pull out now.

“I'm not Kyle,” he said, catching her off guard. “I'm not the loser that left you holding the bag. And I won't screw you over. And if you're suggesting we go back to the way things were… I don't know how to do that. We made love, Lizzy.” Then his expression changed and he took a step back. Oh,” he said, his face falling, “this was just sex for you.” He scrubbed a hand across his mouth, that beautiful mouth that had made her feel wanted, loved, even. “Of course,” he said looking away.

This
wasn't
just sex for her, but she shouldn't admit to that. It might make him happy now, but in the long run was it the best thing for both of them? He was a rich man. He didn't need their company. She did. And if Victoria's murder didn't screw it up, she shouldn't allow a lapse in judgment to. It didn't matter that she'd wanted him. She couldn't have everything she wanted. No one could. But one look at Duncan's face and she couldn't kick the puppy. “No, it wasn't just sex.”

He looked at her then, his expression hopeful as he drew closer. She raised a hand to stop him. “It doesn't mean we can have more. Or should have more,” she added, in case he was going to argue the point, and knowing Duncan, he would. He got a kick from debating anything and everything. “You're right. You're not Kyle. But it was a leap of faith for me to trust doing another business venture with someone else. I earn a good living catering. Instead, I've sunk every last penny of my savings into your idea. I worked hard for that money. I
bled
for that money. I want to see something positive come from it. Maybe I was meant to have Kyle screw me over. It led me here, but I won't repeat that mistake. You may not be Kyle, but I am who I am. I can't sleep with a man and just be friends, any more than I can go into business with that man and be able to focus on business should our relationship get into trouble.”

“You're assuming we won't make it.”

“I'd need to know I could kick your ass to the curb if I have to and not have it affect the company. And yes, if we can't finish what you want us to start here, then it'll be awkward running a business I've sunk everything into, with a man I trusted and
used
to sleep with.”

“Hello and welcome to Zanadoo.”

Both of them spun their heads toward the sound. Lizzy grabbed her sneakers and prepared to dive under the desk as Duncan snuck a peak behind the curtain wall. He visibly relaxed as over his shoulder he said, “Its just Andy. He's one of the designers for a new app.”

She slipped on her shoes, reminded by the interruption of what they'd come here to do. “We should finish what we came for,” she said, knowing Duncan was tenacious enough not to let it go. “We can talk about this later.” Or not. He could very well talk her into something she wasn't ready for.

Duncan surprised her by nodding. “Right. Where were we?” He flipped open his laptop and sat.

“Harris's e-mails to your wife and maybe there being more to them than a bad break up.”

He opened the icon on his desktop and punched in the code to give him access to Harris's computer. Like the first time, the screen turned blue and everything on Harris's desktop was now on Duncan's.

“I'm going to check the logs,” Duncan said, punching in a code she didn't understand at the start up menu. The laptop went black, then filled with codes of numbers and letters.

Lizzy squinted at the screen. “What's dressme?” she asked, the only distinguishable word she could make out.

“It's the name of our new app and the file he accessed,” he said continuing to type.

She positioned herself over his shoulder, trying to see or not see what he was looking for.

“He came all the way over here on a Saturday evening to access a file. Why?”

“I'm not sure,” he said, clicking away, and from the way he pounded the keys, he wasn't happy. Of course, that might have something to do with her.

“Is that the new thing your wife knew about that she shouldn't have?”

He nodded. “New apps are kept top secret for a reason.”

“Your competition?” She took a seat on his desk again, dangling her feet off the edge.

“Right.”

“Could he be selling the technology to your competition?”

“Not likely. Patents have been issued already, and besides, these computers are protected. If the file isn't encrypted, it can't be copied without leaving a trace. What you see here”—he pointed to the screen—“are data logs. Every time files are accessed, they record. They log from which computer and whose password. Nothing is allowed to leave this building, and even my remote access is limited. My security checks those logs on a daily basis.”

“What's this app about anyway?”

“This one is aimed at women, any age. It catalogs your closet, so when you go into a store and find pants you like, it will tell whether you have anything in your closet to match. But the real genius behind it is the app can tell you where to find the shoes you're looking for and can alert you if there's a sale. Stores pay us to direct traffic to them.”

“Wow, for a guy who claims not to know much about women…”

“I started it as a tool to help out my fellow nerds, actually. It wasn't until some of the women around the office saw it and suggested the additional features that it really took off. And marketing went after retail in a big way.”

“You mean you knew you'd need someone to dress you after Victoria left.”

“You got me. The alpha version was actually called Virtual Girlfriend. Marketing nixed that pretty fast. Seems they thought there could be some confusion with, ahem, other kinds of apps.”

Duncan was sounding more relaxed, the emotion of their prior conversation temporarily forgotten. She wasn't certain they could ever go back to the way things were. But at least some of the tension between them had gone, for now. “So, seriously, how is all this even possible?” And when would it launch? She had a turquoise skirt she hadn't been able to find shoes for.

“I had two separate teams brainstorming the idea and three working with department stores. It's been a year in the making. When stores are ready to put out their inventory, they either upload the product or they can opt to supply a general link, like their shoe catalog, where the consumer has to scroll through. It would cost the supplier less but wouldn't be as effective as showing the buyer the exact shoes she or he wants. This is online shopping at its best. Anywhere, anytime, no matter the city. We launch first in the US, then two weeks later everywhere else. Some of the smaller stores and stores who don't offer online shopping have also come onboard, but those are specific to a city. So if you're somewhere in Australia you won't get the locations of the boutiques in say… Vegas.”

“Okay, that's all really cool, but what do you think Harris was doing and why wouldn't he know you'd find out?”

“He doesn't know what I know. Remember, I didn't tell him or the police what Victoria said. He could have come here to work on the file.”

“For what, all of two minutes?” Considering what had happened while they'd been hiding under his desk, maybe two minutes was all he needed.

“Right, but the security team may not think there is anything wrong with the chief finance officer accessing the computers on a Saturday for all of two minutes.”

“So can that fancy system of yours tell you what he was doing?” If they could come up with an app to dress you, she wouldn't be surprised if his computer system could wipe your bum.

“Believe or not, yes. But maybe now would be the time to get the police involved. Whether Harris killed Victoria or not, I don't want it said that I tampered with the evidence.”

Lizzy agreed. It was a good thing if they'd found something to give to the police. They could shift their attention, perhaps toward the real person responsible for Victoria's murder. Lizzy's business adventure would be unscathed. But Duncan wouldn't be. If Harris was guilty of wrongdoing, Duncan would yet again feel the betrayal of someone close to him. And on the heels of what they'd just done and what she'd said to him, Lizzy may very well have made it worse for him. This was why friends didn't sleep with friends.