Catering to the Billionaire (The Billionaire's Appetites) (BBW Billionaire Erotic Romance) (3 page)

As she finished explaining her decision to have the dessert course be a selection of creations by seven up and coming local female pastry chefs, Thorne nodded at her approvingly. He glanced at Barbara and said: “I knew we were right to hire her.” Then, his eyes meeting Lissa’s again, he said with a wicked half-smile: “Lissa struck me right away as someone with an uncommon degree of decisiveness.  She clearly knows what she wants, and does not compromise when she feels strongly about it.”

Barbara raised her eyes at her employer.  “You got that from an initial meeting?” she began, and then stopped as she saw the look that passed between Greg and Lissa. Clearly, something was going on here.  She didn’t know what it was, but she knew better than to press it.  Smiling slightly, she nodded.  “I agree.  Lissa is a rare find.  We’re fortunate to have found her.”

Lissa, for her part, was turning pink from all the attention and the champagne. The flush in her cheeks was very becoming, Thorne thought – it made her already gorgeous complexion radiate life, sensuality.  He had relaxed considerably during their conversation, but as he watched her talk, he had found himself growing increasingly mesmerized by her.  He tried not to focus on her pink, bow-like lips, her creamy skin, the tumble of auburn hair as it fell around her face and caressed her breasts.  Thorne thought back uncomfortably to the first time they had met, when her presence in his office had caused him almost immediate discomfort.  Thorne was a man who very much worked to keep business and pleasure separate, and from the moment he first saw Lissa Bradford, he knew that this would be almost impossible with her. 

Thorne had been irritated at having to take over Barbara’s interview, which cut into time he needed to meet an important deadline.  But when Lissa walked into his office and sat down, he knew he had an entirely different problem on his hands.  Lissa had come highly recommended, and Barbara was already leaning toward hiring her, but Greg’s normally strong impulse control had been completely derailed by the presence of this stunning, curvy, sensual woman seated facing him.  At their first meeting, it had been all he was capable of doing to try to listen with half an ear and distract himself with emails to avoid leering at her like a pathetic fifteen year-old virgin.  His cock had been straining in his pants the whole time she was there, only growing tighter and more erect as her breasts began to heave in discomfort and then anger.  When she finally left in a huff after berating him for being cold, arrogant, and rude, he could only feel relief as she stormed out of his office, wiggling her luscious ass as she went.  He had immediately called Annie and told her he didn’t want to be disturbed, then strode to his office door to flip the lock.  Easing back into his chair, he unzipped and unbuttoned his straining pants, setting free his thick, throbbing erection.  Like an adolescent who couldn’t control himself, he began to stroke, first as slowly as he could stand it, then faster, as he imagined pushing up that cream-colored skirt to find she had on only thigh highs and no panties.  He closed his eyes as, in his mind, he bent her forward over his desk, easing his desperate cock into her wet and ready slit as she moaned with need for him and writhed against his hardness.  When Greg came, it was so sudden and explosive that he cried out in surprise as he shot four ropy spurts hard against the bottom of his desk.  Shuddering, he sighed with relief and reached in his desk for a handful of Kleenexes, furtively wiping away the evidence of his inability to control himself.

And now, here he was, face to face with the woman.  He knew he had been making a mistake by insisting that Barbara hire her, but his business sense almost always overrode his personal preferences.  It was part of what had made him so successful.  And up to now, he had managed to stay away from Lissa, letting the two women do their work and allowing the gorgeous woman to assume he hated her.  It was better that way, he knew.  But now, with her sitting here across from him, he found himself wanting her to think better of him. It was easier for him to know she probably despised him when she remained largely an abstraction, a fantasy that occupied his thoughts and his cock when he was alone in the dark at night.  But right here, right now, he wanted her to think more favorably of him.  God help him, he even wished against his better judgment that she might even
like
him. 

This was not good.

And now Barbara – maddening, maddening Barbara – was suggesting that Lissa come as an invitee as well as the caterer of the event.  That was the last thing Greg needed – instead of her being largely behind the scenes, she would be front and center, in formal attire, looking like a knockout while Greg mingled and networked.  But Greg could think of no way to stop Barbara from doing it.  “You are one of our women in business,” Barbara gushed, “and think of the networking opportunities you’ll have at the event if you’re available to circulate and mingle with the other invitees.  I just hope that you’ll make sure not to forget Thorne Investments when you’ve become the caterer to the rich and famous of Boston!”

“Of course not,” Lissa laughed.  “And thank you.  I’d be honored.  My assistant Kaylee will be more than capable of running things behind the scenes, I’m sure.”

The bottle of champagne finished, conversation began to wind down, and Greg stood up.  “I’ll leave you to finish up,” he said, turning to Lissa.  “Congratulations, Lissa.  I’m looking forward to seeing the results at the event.”

She blushed slightly and took his outstretched hand, which enveloped her smaller one in a grasp that felt surprisingly intimate.  “Thank you, Mr. Thorne,” she murmured.

“Greg,” he replied firmly, looking into her eyes.  “Please.”

She smiled shyly up at him. “Greg,” she murmured.  The sound of his name on her lips made his heart catch in his throat. Tearing his gaze from her, he nodded at Barbara. “See you Monday, Barb.  Have a good weekend.”

“You too, Greg.  Don’t forget the meeting with Abbott we have Monday morning.”

Greg nodded wordlessly and walked out of the older woman’s office.  Barb turned to Lissa and watched her pack up her things. “Well, Lissa, you certainly seemed to have charmed the pants off Greg.  He’s a tough cookie.  You should take that as quite a compliment.”

“Thank you,” Lissa said carefully. “Quite honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d made such a good impression the first time we met.  I was... a bit outspoken.”

“That’s not something Greg has a problem with, as long as he feels you know what you’re talking about.  As you can imagine, he’s somewhat outspoken, himself.  And he has a healthy respect for people who know what they want and aren’t afraid to go get it.”

Barb and Lissa said their goodbyes, with Lissa promising to touch base one more time the day before the event to go over any last-minute developments.  Then Lissa, heaving a heavy sigh of accomplishment, walked out of the Thorne Investments offices and toward the elevator.

It was after seven o’clock, and all of the other employees had long since left for the weekend.  Lissa walked past Annie’s desk and out the huge glass doors, then pressed the down elevator button and waited for it to arrive.  Stepping into the car, she pulled out her phone to check her messages, and when she looked up she was shocked to see Greg Thorne stepping into the elevator beside her. 

“Hello again,” he murmured, his tone slightly more formal and closed than it had been in Barbara’s office.

Lissa smiled up at him.  “I’m glad to see even CEOs leave for the weekend.”

“Yes,” Greg said vaguely.  The two stood in slightly uncomfortable silence as the car sank downwards toward the ground level.  Greg looked down at the floor and ran his hand distractedly through his curly, sun-streaked blond hair.  The doors open, and he silently gestured for her to exit first. At the entrance building, he went first, holding the door open for her to pass through.  Out on the street, Lissa saw a large black limousine waiting at the curb.  “Can I drop you at your car?” Greg offered.

“I came by T, actually,” Lissa said, glancing down the street in the direction of the nearest station.

“Then can I offer you a ride home?” he asked.

“Oh, no, that’s quite alright – but thank you, anyway,” Lissa murmured.  She shifted her briefcase from one hand to the other as she spoke.

“Please,” he said gently, “I insist.  I’d... I’d like to speak to you for a moment.”  Without waiting for an answer, he placed his warm hand on the small of her back and led her toward the limousine.  Lissa was too astonished to refuse, and mutely stepped into the car through the open door held by a chauffeur clad in a pressed black suit.  Greg slid in beside her and the door closed quietly behind him.  When the chauffeur had gotten into the car, Greg pressed a button.  “What’s your address?” he asked Lissa.  She gave it to him, and he repeated it more loudly to the man behind the wheel, whom he called Alan.  Then, releasing the button, he turned to her with an expression she couldn’t quite read.  “I...” he began, then stopped.  “I wanted to apologize.  For the first time we met.”  He frowned, clearly uncomfortable.  “I was unforgivably rude.  It’s true that I was under a lot of pressure that day, but that’s no excuse.  Please forgive me.”

Greg’s dark eyes held Lissa’s prisoner, and in spite of herself, she felt her breath quicken.  This man was so different from the one who had so arrogantly brushed her off that first day.  He was still formal, but his eyes were kind and troubled.  It was clear he was genuinely sorry for the way he had acted.  She remembered how generously Barb had spoken of him during their meetings.  “Greg’s a man of irreproachable integrity,” she had said.  “There aren’t many people out there whom I respect as much as I do him.” Looking at him now, earnestly asking for her forgiveness, Lissa’s heart softened a bit toward him.  “Of course, Greg,” she said softly.  “I appreciate it.  And please forgive me, as well.  I was ruder than I needed to be to get my point across.”

To her astonishment, he chuckled.  “Oh, no, you were just as rude as you needed to be.  It was exactly what I needed to shake me out of my self-absorption.  I’m glad you took me to task, Lissa,” he said, his eyes catching hers warmly.  “You reminded me that I’m not too important to remember my manners.  And you reminded me that I was being a giant hypocrite.”

Lissa allowed herself a wicked little smile.  “Well, not a
giant
hypocrite...”  She was rewarded with a deep-throated belly laugh from Greg. 

“Yes, a giant hypocrite.  You were exactly right: how ridiculous of me to treat you so dismissively while interviewing you for the Women in Business event. You must have thought I was a horrible, horrible man.”

Lissa smiled.  “Well... let’s just say I was mistaken, then, and leave it at that.”

Greg grinned.  “Deal,” he nodded.

While they were talking, the limousine had slowed considerably, and was now creeping along at barely above a snail’s pace.  Frowning, Greg pressed the button and spoke to the chauffeur: “What’s the holdup, Alan?”

“Construction,” came the reply.  “Traffic’s a little backed up.”

“Oh, yes,” Lissa cried.  “I forgot there’s construction along this route.  I’m so sorry, Greg.” She turned to look at him. “I didn’t think – otherwise I would never have let you drive me home.”

“It’s no problem, Lissa, really.  I don’t have anywhere to be tonight.  We’ll get there soon enough.”  Privately, though, he was conflicted: on the one hand, being alone with Lissa Bradford was tantalizing in a way he had only vaguely imagined.  On the other, he was rapidly losing control of his resolve with her. 
Pull it together, Thorne.  You’re not some lovesick kid.
 

Just then, the limo lurched to the right, presumably to avoid something in the road, and Lissa felt herself sliding across the back seat, into Thorne.  He caught her by the shoulders as she slid, helping her right herself before she ended up in a compromising position across his lap.  “Whoa,” he murmured, pulling her up in his strong grasp.  “Easy...”

The unexpect contact, and Thorne’s strong, powerful hands on her arms startled Lissa, and she looked up at him, her lips parting in shock.  Their eyes locked, their faces only inches from one another.  Neither dared to say anything as one second ticked by, then another. Then Thorne’s gaze slid down to Lissa’s lips, and suddenly all the resolve he had built up to resist her fell away.  With a low, tortured groan, his mouth came down on hers, forcing hers open.  His tongue found hers, probing and insistent.  Lissa, before she even knew what she was doing, felt her body responding as her mouth opened to his, tasting his breath and the faint trace of champagne still on his lips.  Once he had punished her mouth, devouring her, his lips tore themselves from hers and burned a path down her jaw to her neck, where he stopped and kissed at the pulse that was beating wildly like a caged bird. All coherent gone from her, she felt her back arching to meet his touch as his hand slid upward to her blouse and began to tease her breasts through the fabric, caressing her nipples to hard, desperate nubs as she struggled not to let the loud moan at her throat tear out of her.  His touch lit a burning fire between her legs and she felt her panties dampen with her slick moisture and heat.  She wanted more than anything for him to slip them down and off of her, then press her back against the long seat and push the hard, thick length of him inside her, plunging and fucking until they both cried out with the violence of their passion.  Lissa began to whimper and wriggle as he continued to torment her hardened buds, and felt her panties go from damp to soaked.

“Oh, God, Lissa,” he groaned against her skin.  The hand that had been caressing her breasts slid down between her legs, and she gasped as his probing fingers found her dripping, swollen sex.  “I... Oh, Jesus, you’re so wet,” he whispered. Lissa flushed at his bluntness, embarrassed in spite of herself at how aroused she was.  “Lissa,” Greg continued, oblivious to her discomfort, “God, how I’ve tried not to do this...” His lips were at her neck again, causing a thrill of goosebumps on her flesh as his mouth found the sensitive spot just behind her ear.  “I was so rude that day because I was struggling not to launch myself over the desk and do exactly this.  God, your curves, your beautiful, sexy curves... do you have any idea what you do to me, how crazy you make me?” His hand went to hers, guiding it down to feel the rock hard heat of his erection.  “Do you feel that, Lissa? Do you see why I acted the way I did?”