“I’m not going to the stupid party, Mom,” Livia Morgan said. She hurried through the office with her cell phone pressed to her ear, carrying the marketing designs she was going to present in a couple of hours.
Livia heard the tension in her mother’s voice through the phone lines. “Please, Livia. It’s just for a few hours. And your father wants you to meet someone.”
Livia cringed even as she set the design packages on the conference room table and adjusted the phone so she could hear her mother more easily. “All the more reason to avoid the party. There is absolutely no way I want to meet any of Dad’s cronies. They’re loud, obnoxious, and disgusting – not to mention pathetic chauvinists.”
Ruth Morgan didn’t argue the point. There was too much evidence supporting that statement. “I hear this man is quite a catch, dear.”
Livia rolled her eyes, amazed that her mother would think such a thing. Her father was a disgusting crook, not to mention a pathetic bully, and there was no way to sugar coat that fact. All of his business associates were guilty by association in her mind. “If he’s in business with Dad, he’s a bad guy.”
“Oh, but he’s not in business with your father!” her mother explained. “In fact, this man has resisted doing any work with your Dad, which is why your father wants you to be here tonight.”
Livia chuckled. “Dad wants me to be the sacrificial lamb, eh?” she laughed, shaking her head as she gave a file to the copy clerk. “Fifty copies of this, please,” she said with a smile.
“What are you doing, dear?” her mother asked.
Livia smothered a sigh. She loved her mother, but the woman hadn’t worked a day in her life. She’d tried, but…well, things had stopped her from venturing out and getting any sort of employment. “Mother, I’m working.”
Livia could “hear” her mother rubbing her forehead. “You don’t need to work, darling.”
They’d had this conversation many times over the past few years. “I like my job. And there is no way I am going to ask Dad for money. Never.” She paused, wondering if it was time to give her mom an “out”. “You know, if you’d like to come live with me, I have an extra bedroom in my apartment. You could…” could she say it? Did she dare? “You could heal, Mom. You could get out from under Dad’s constant pressure and criticism. Find your own way in the world.”
There was a long silence and Livia wondered if her mother was actually considering it. Ruth Morgan had been married to her father for thirty years and had taken so much abuse during that period. There had been times when her mother hadn’t come out of her bedroom for days. Those were after the nights when Livia had heard her father yelling and had hidden under her bed herself, frightened of his temper, not wanting to hear the sounds.
“Goodness, look at the time!” her mother said. “I really need to hurry, dear. The party is at eight o’clock tonight. If you could be here, just for me, that would be…” she paused. “Well, that would be nice,” her mother finally said.
Livia had almost made it to her cubicle when those words came through her cell phone. She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes as she heard the silent plea from her mother. “Eight o’clock,” she repeated. “I’ll be there, but I’m not staying long.”
Her mother’s shuddering breath came through the line as well. “That would be really…great.”
“But will you consider my offer?” she asked, hoping that her mother might want to get out from Livia’s dictatorial, abusive father. Daniel Morgan had never hit Livia, but that didn’t mean that she spared any love for the man who had donated half of her DNA. Too much that had happened over the years and Livia had finally learned how to get out on her own, stand up for herself. She vowed that she would never live as her mother had lived all her married life.
“I have to run, dear. Thank you for agreeing to come tonight.”
Livia hung up then, holding the cell phone to her chest as if it were her mother. She’d spoken to counselors, but there was nothing that she could do but be there for her mom, ready to act when her mother was ready to get out of the relationship.
And that was why, several hours later, she was dressed in a black, sheath dress, conservative, fake pearls at her throat and her ears as she stepped into her parents’ house.
And that is also why she stopped moving, the breath knocked out of her and her body tingling with a jolt that surprised her the moment she spotted the tall, shockingly attractive man standing next to her father, looking bored and annoyed.
Until he looked across the room and saw Livia. When their eyes met, she felt dumbstruck. Never had any man stunned her like this, she thought. Even as her mother rushed over to greet her, Livia couldn’t pull her eyes away from the man.
“You’re here,” her mother sighed with obvious relief and linked arms with her daughter. “I’m so glad. Your father has been asking about you.”
That was never good. Her father’s main interest in his only child was for personal gain. “Why?” Livia asked, her eyes narrowing but still staring at the man. She was trying to look away, and with monumental effort she succeeded and looked at her mother. All the while, Livia was trying to ignore the heat flushing through her because she knew that the tall man was still watching her.
Her mother’s hands fluttered in the air dismissively. “Oh, remember I mentioned that there was a potentially important client your father wants you to meet?”
Livia’s heart dropped, her eyes glanced towards the tall man and her heart rate picked up another hundred beats per minute when she realized that he was still looking at her. Please don’t let that man, the one with the fascinating eyes, be her father’s friend, she thought. Anyone else in the room – just not him! “Yes, you told me about him.”
Her mother glanced around at the other guests. “Yes, well, he’s been here for only about thirty minutes and already he’s been making sounds about needing to leave. Your father has been trying to stall him, but now that you’re here, everything will be okay.”
Livia heard the panicky note in her mother’s voice and looked down at her. “Is everything okay, Mom?” she asked softly, stopping their forward momentum to lay a gentle hand on her mother’s shoulder. “Has Dad…”
“I’m fine,” she whispered. “Just come in and meet this man. He’s really quite charming.” And her mother’s cheeks turned an attractive shade of pink. “Well, he is in my mind. I’m hoping that you think so as well.”
Livia accepted a glass of white wine, but her numb fingers couldn’t seem to lift the glass to her lips. The man was still watching her, making her clumsy and awkward.
“Who is he?” she asked, surprised when the words were actually said out loud.
Her mother’s startled eyes looked to her daughter’s. “You don’t recognize him?”
Livia shook her head, finally able to glance away. “No. Should I?”
“That’s Stefan Kozlov! He’s that fabulously wealthy Russian billionaire that moved his headquarters to Houston, Texas, recently. There’s an enormous housing boom down there as several thousand people are relocating from all over the country. Good grief, probably the world. Everyone wants to be close to that man,” she whispered with unhidden glee. “I wouldn’t mind being close to him,” she laughed. “I don’t think your father would move to Texas though.”
Livia was so startled by her mother’s statement that her shocked eyes looked at her. “Mother!” she laughed.
Her mother just shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. “Well? I’m married, not dead!” she said as an excuse.
Livia’s hand covered her mouth, shocked because her mother had never spoken like this before. And certainly never about her father.
“Livia!” Her father’s booming voice called out from the livingl room doorway, extinguishing the levity like the sun on a fog bank.
Livia turned, removing the incriminating smile from her face before she faced her father. “How are you?” she asked and almost stumbled as she realized that the tall, gorgeous man was now standing next to her father. And he was looking down at her as if she was a candy cane and he was ready to devour her. The sensation sent a spark of excitement throughout her body, despite her discomfort at being summoned by her father. Her eyes glanced up at the tall man, but she couldn’t seem to actually look at him. Not when he was this close!
“Good!” her father returned with forced joviality. “I’m glad you decided to join the party,” he came back, the admonishment for her tardiness apparent in his voice.
“Mom asked me to stop by, but I really…” Livia began, still intent to escape the event right after the introductions.
“Nonsense,” her father interrupted before Livia could tell him that she was on her way out the door to another event. “You haven’t even met Stefan.”
With that, she had no alternative but to look up at the tall, devastatingly handsome man. She felt as if the world was moving in slow motion now, but perhaps it was just her nervousness at looking up at the man at close range. It had been shocking when he was across the room. But this close? She could already feel the heat of his body, sense the electricity in him.
She heard her father’s words as if they were coming from a long distance, as if in a tunnel. All of her focus was on this man, on the way his dark eyes were looking into her green ones and she felt her stomach muscles tighten, her knees start to wobble. No man had ever had this effect on her and she wasn’t exactly sure how to handle it. “Stefan, this is my daughter, Livia Morgan. Livia, Stefan Kozlov, from St. Petersburg, Russia.”
Stefan watched the woman with the glorious, brownish-red hair and the startling green eyes look up at him. He knew she was nervous and he wanted to alleviate that nervousness, but he wasn’t sure how. He’d noticed her from the moment she’d stepped into the house and thought she was a timid little thing. His eyes moved down her figure, noting the presence of full breasts underneath the black dress. But that was all he could see. The dress was shapeless, but he suspected there was a treasure beneath that material. Not too thin, full hips and full breasts, perfect curves for a man to hold onto. He suddenly realized that he preferred the softer, rounder figure on a woman versus the figure where bones were poking out in all directions. This woman would be soft and lush, definitely nice to hold onto.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Morgan,” he said and took her cold, trembling fingers in his warm grip. Lifting her hand to his mouth, she was startled by the bolt of heat that seared through her body when his lips touched her skin. They lingered, his dark eyes captured her green ones and wouldn’t let them go. His hand actually pulled her closer. Or had she stepped closer of her own volition?
She wasn’t sure. At this moment, she wasn’t sure about anything except that this man fascinated her, scared her and enticed her all at the same time.
“Why don’t you take Stefan to get a fresh drink, Livia?” her father suggested. “You know where everything is.”
Livia looked down at the man’s drink. It didn’t look as if he’d touched the amber liquid yet. Which only told her that her father was doing a bit of matchmaking. And when her father wanted something, that was bad. Romantic inclinations were foreign to her father, so if he was trying to get her together with this man, something was rotten.
“It looks as if his drink is fine,” she replied to her father, lifting her gaze and challenging the older man. “And I have…”
“You work in marketing, is that correct?” Stefan interjected. He knew that this mesmerizing woman was trying to get away and he simply wasn’t going to allow that. Daniel Morgan was a decent businessman. And some of his ideas were worth considering. But the entire night was now worthwhile, simply because of the man’s daughter, not because of any of the proposals the loud and unpleasant man had brought up earlier.
Livia realized that he was still holding her hand when she felt him pull her forward, deftly tucking her hand under his arm and moving away from her parents. She glanced back at her mother who only smiled happily in her direction. Livia then glanced up at the man, not sure what was going on.
“Tell me about your job,” he said, bringing her eyes back to his.
Livia opened her mouth to speak but the words wouldn’t really come out. She tried again but then closed her mouth, feeling silly. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “If I could have my hand back, I might be able to contribute to an intelligent conversation.”
Stefan was entranced. Her long, brown hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back, the red highlights almost glowing in the dim lights of the living room. But her hair was overshadowed by her glorious eyes. Never had he seen green that color before, except perhaps on the hills of Ireland. They were mysterious and clear, shocking and soothing all at the same time.
He was completely aware that meeting her was a set up by Daniel, but at this point, he didn’t care. The older man had been correct, his daughter was lovely. Now if only he could get her to relax enough, he knew that she would be stimulating company. For a few days at least. Hopefully more, but most women only held his attention for a day or two, maybe a week. They were delightful creatures, but predictable.
“Tell me about your job, Livia,” he encouraged again. But his mind was wandering to what she would look like without that tedious dress on. While most women he met were draped in silks and satins that enhanced their figure, this slender little lady had chosen something that hid all of her assets. An intriguing contradiction, he thought.
Livia somehow kept herself from rolling her eyes. “My job isn’t all that interesting, contrary to whatever my father might have told you.”
“I doubt it. I’m always intrigued by my marketing team’s ability to see through personal motives and come up with a concept that will break through to an audience’s consciousness.”
Livia blinked, amazed by his insight. “You do a lot of marketing?” she asked.
Stefan wanted to laugh. “You don’t know who I am, do you?”
Livia saw the humor in his eyes and bristled, thinking she was missing something important. But if this man was important, her father would have explained, wouldn’t he? “Of course. You’re Stefan Kozlov,” she replied, repeating the name her father had just given her.
Stefan watched her eyes, trying to see if she was being coy. “But you don’t know anything else about me other than my name?”
Livia sighed, glancing around the man’s shoulders to see her father watching them. “I know that you’re a friend of my father’s and that you’re probably doing business with him.” She glanced up at the man’s hard but somehow still attractive features. “That means that you’re dangerous and I won’t have anything to do with you.” She pulled away from him and took a deep breath. “I really need to head back home.”
Stefan was so stunned by her reply that it took him a long moment to react. By the time he did, she’d already set down her wine glass and was walking towards the front door. Thankfully, it was a large house and he was able to catch up with her before she had even left the living room.
“Let’s get a cup of coffee,” he said and put a hand to the small of her back, ignoring her startled expression as he nudged her towards the doorway.
Livia glanced up at him, then towards the doorway and then her father’s stricken expression. “No coffee,” she said firmly, refusing to go anywhere with this man.
Stefan ignored her. No woman walked away from him. Especially not a woman as beautiful and mysterious as this one. She was playing him perfectly and he was enjoying the chase, he thought. It was a refreshing change from the women who were obvious in their intentions, clearly giving him the green light for a night of whatever he might desire.
This woman was much more subtle and he liked it. He realized that he missed the chase. He missed the excitement of trying to seduce a woman. And Livia was much more beautiful than most.
“We’re getting coffee,” he said firmly.
She’d already pulled her keys out of her purse and shook her head. “No, thank you for the offer,” she replied sarcastically because he hadn’t offered. He’d ordered. “I’m going home. I have an early morning meeting tomorrow and I don’t have…”
Her mouth fell open as he simply plucked her keys out of her hand, tossing them to a man in a dark suit that had somehow appeared out of the shadows. “My bodyguard will drive your car. You’re coming with me. We’re going to talk and you’re going to tell me why you don’t want to have coffee with me.”
Livia wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or scream. Laughter won out but she stopped dead in her tracks, not moving another inch until this man stopped ordering her around. “Mr. Kozlov, I’m sure your employees feel very secure with this commanding routine of yours. But I will not be ordered around. I don’t want to have coffee with you.”
Stefan couldn’t believe that he wanted to laugh. With a woman! Unheard of! He looked down at her and noticed the way she stepped back, putting more space between them. “Why not? There’s obviously a connection between us.”
She could deny that there was any sort of connection but she suspected that he might just challenge that assertion, prove her wrong. So she took the honest approach, facing the issue head on. She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. You’re a friend of my father’s, probably doing business with him. That makes you off limits.”
His silver eyes, dark orbs in the dim light coming from the porch, wouldn’t release her green ones. “I am not doing business with your father.”
She shivered with his earnestness as well as a large dose of fear if this man was challenging her father. “Everyone does business with my father if he wants to do business with them.” Her pretty eyes turned worried as she looked up at him in the night. “He will hurt your company if you turn him down. Please don’t do anything stupid. Just do what he wants and you can walk away at the end.”
Stefan was stunned. And charmed! “Are you trying to protect me, Livia?” he asked, his tone gentle as his hand lifted to touch her face. He discovered that her skin was even softer than it looked.
“Yes,” she replied with an urgency that she’d never felt before. Somehow, there was a sense of security, of intimacy in the darkness and this man…there was just something about him that affected her soul, touching a part deep inside of her that she’d never known existed. She’d hardened her heart to men but, somehow, this one got around all of her defenses despite the fact that she’d just met him!
The dim lights from the house softened this man’s features, making him slightly more approachable, less dangerous than he’d seemed inside the house. “My father doesn’t play fair, Stefan. He’ll lie and cheat and do whatever he needs to in order to get you to do what he wants.”
He smiled as her face turned into his hand and a surge of lust for this tiny woman hit him hard. “Please, come have a cup of coffee with me. Tell me more.”
Livia stared hard at the man, wanting to both protect him and run away from him. “I can’t,” she whispered, but her eyes dropped to his lips.
“Can’t?” he asked, moving closer. “Or won’t?”
Livia’s fingers curled into a fist. She hadn’t realized that she was touching his chest. “Should not,” she replied back, nervousness eclipsed by desire. Her eyes watched, mesmerized, as those firm, sexy lips moved closer. She couldn’t believe how much she wanted this man to kiss her. How much she wanted to taste and feel those lips against hers.
When his lips finally touched hers, she gasped and pulled back slightly, her eyes snapping up to his. She was startled, not by the contact so much as the impact of that contact. But it was so wonderful, she moved in closer, standing on her toes so that she could try it again. Sure enough, just the slightest touch sent her body shivering with delight and crazy sensations.
When his mouth closed over hers, no longer willing to deal with the light, tentative touches, he took possession, kissing her with his mouth and his tongue, his teeth nibbling her lower lip until she was surprised out of her shock and forced to participate.
Slowly, as if she were in a daze, her hands crept higher along his chest while he kissed her. She felt his hands wrap around her waist, lifting her soft body against his hard one and she reveled in the feeling, moved against him to fill her mind with that amazing sensation. She heard something or someone make a strange sound, but couldn’t pull away to investigate. All she wanted was more. More of this kiss, more of his touch, more of him. And she had absolutely no idea how to get it.
Stefan’s hands lifted her up, pressing her against the car behind him and lost himself in the kiss. Her lips were softer than he’d thought possible and her body was curved in all the right places. His hands moved along her back, lifting her higher, pressing her core against his erection. When he heard her soft, sexy moan, he almost lost all control. But then he pulled back and realized where they were. Pressing this woman against a car in front of her parent’s house was not the way he was going to have sex with her the first time.
Swearing softly in Russian, he lifted her back, carefully setting her feet down on the ground. He had to hold her for several moments until her eyes opened and she realized where she was once again. When those stunning green eyes finally focused, he had a hard time remembering why he’d stopped.
“Come with me,” he urged, taking Livia’s hand and leading her to his limousine. He had her tucked in the back before she realized what was going on.
“I am not coming with you, Mr. Kozlov,” she said sternly, leaning sideways as if she could somehow get out of the limousine even though the vehicle had started moving the moment he’d closed the door.
“All evidence to the contrary,” he chuckled. He liked the way her full, pouty lips were swollen and red now. She’d changed from an elegant, reserved beauty to a sexy siren and he found the change enticing. Apparently, underneath all that boring black, a passionate woman was waiting to escape.
Livia looked around, startled to realize that she really was in the back of his limousine and they were driving away. “Where are you taking me? And my car! How will I get my car? I need to work tomorrow.”
Stefan took her hand, examining her fingers. She wasn’t one of those spoiled, pampered women who spent her days in the salon getting her nails done. Her nails were neatly clipped, but there was no polish on them. For some reason, he liked that about her. She was clean and natural. Fresh! And incredibly sexy!
“Relax. I am not kidnapping you. I generally don’t need to resort to such an effort to spend some time alone with a woman I am interested in.”
Livia’s eyes widened and her heart thumped so loudly, she was sure that he could hear it. “You’re interested in me.” It wasn’t a question. “Why would a man like you be interested in a woman like me?”
His eyebrows popped up. “Because you are a beautiful woman. I find that appealing,” he laughed softly. “But also because you are kind and caring. Those are qualities that I don’t often run into with the women who move in my circles.”
“I don’t.” She stared at his blank expression. “Move in your circles, that is.”
He smiled slightly. “I know that. Or I would have met you by now.”
She shook her head. “None of this makes any sense.” She raised her hand, just trying to think things through. “Can you just drop me off at my apartment?” she asked, glancing around nervously. The intimacy of the vehicle was making her tremble. Not to mention the extremely large, amazingly attractive man next to her.
“Of course,” he told her. He pressed a button and the privacy screen between the passenger and driver slid smoothly down. “What’s your address?” he asked.
Livia called it out to the driver. A moment later, the screen was back in place and she was once again alone with Stefan. “Thank you,” she said to him, trying to relax against the soft, leather seats. Unfortunately, it was difficult to relax around this man. He was like a live wire and she was the conduit.
“My pleasure.” He watched her carefully. “Tell me more about yourself.”
She shrugged. “There isn’t much to tell,” she replied softly. Livia didn’t want this man to know more about her. She already knew that he was dangerous to her peace of mind. She had to maintain a safe distance to him.
“Tell me what there is to know. What makes Livia Morgan special?” he prompted.
Livia laughed. “I’m not special. I’m so totally un-special, it is shocking. You’d better run and hide before you find out how truly boring I am.”
He chuckled, a deep sexy sound that sent reverberations throughout her whole body. “I doubt it. What do you do for a living? I know you’re in marketing, but that was all your father could tell me. Or, more specifically, that was all he knew. Your father was very keen on getting us together, but he couldn’t think of any details about you.”
Livia ignored the comment about her father’s knowledge of her life. “I work for a tyrant,” she replied, looking up at him. “Probably someone similar to you. Someone who doesn’t take no for an answer.”
Stefan lifted a hand and ran a finger across her soft skin. “I take no for an answer.” He paused, his eyes moving over her beautiful features. “When it is the right answer.”
She looked up at him, transfixed by his bold gaze. “When is it right?”
He smiled slightly. “Not right now,” he assured her.
They were both unaware that the limousine had stopped until the chauffer pulled the door open, startling both of them.
Stefan stepped out and held his hand to her to help her out as well. Livia ignored the hand, afraid of touching him again. His touch obviously wasn’t a good idea. Better to avoid it.
“Thank you for the ride home. Even though I didn’t want it.” She glanced behind him. “And I appreciate your bodyguard driving my car here as well.”
He almost laughed at the sarcasm that slipped into her tone. She really was a feisty one, he thought. “I’ll walk you to your door.”
She sighed and stepped back. “I’m guessing there isn’t really any way I could tell you that I don’t need you to walk me to my door, is there?” She might think he was the best looking man she’d ever run into, but he was also the most annoying. He really didn’t take no for an answer, did he?
Ignoring her comment about not walking her to the door, he glanced up at the overhead light in the parking lot plus the one missing on the stairwell that made the walk to her apartment unsafe. “Not a chance,” he replied, putting a hand to the small of her back and guiding her up the stairs. He turned to his bodyguard. “Go to the manager’s office and ensure that these lights are fixed by morning,” he told the man who immediately nodded and hurried off. Another guard stepped into the other’s place, looking away but scanning the darkness.
When they were standing by her apartment door, Livia looked up at the tall man warily, worried about what might happen next. She didn’t want him to kiss her again. That needed to be avoided at all costs. “Okay, I’m here. You’ve walked me to my door and you’ve sent your bodyguard off on a useless errand because there is no way that the light here in the stairway or the light out in the parking lot will be fixed by morning. But it shows that you’re not a completely horrible person.” She sighed and crossed her arms, pressing her purse against her body defensively. “I get it, you’re trying to show that you’re a nice guy. That’s great. But I…”
“Unlock your door Livia,” Stefan interrupted her, moving closer, knowing that it would fluster her. And also because he liked her soft, feminine scent. She smelled like cookies, he thought.
Livia pressed her back against the door when he stepped closer. “What are you doing?”
He wanted to laugh at her chagrined expression, but suppressed his amusement. She was enchanting, he thought to himself. “I’m waiting for you to unlock the door.”
“I can’t…”
“Give me the keys then,” he told her.
She shook her head, refusing to give up her keys again. He’d already hijacked her car. That was enough for one night.
With fumbling fingers, she unlocked her apartment door quickly, then turned to face the man. “Thank you for the ride home,” she said, feeling strange because he’d stolen her keys, forced her into the back seat of his limousine so she had to accept the ride and now he was crowding her in her apartment hallway.
“Invite me in for coffee,” he told her, leaning a hand on either side of her head against the wall.
Livia inhaled and looked up at him. Shaking her head, she said, “No, that wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Then have lunch with me tomorrow.”
She smiled slightly, despite the nervousness his closeness was creating inside of her. “You’re a bit relentless.”
His eyes moved over her lovely features. “You have no idea.”
She was starting to suspect! “I have to work tomorrow. I generally don’t have time for lunch.”
“Then dinner.”
She shook her head. “I don’t…” she stopped speaking when his finger moved over her lips, silencing her.
“Livia, we’re going to see each other. Eventually, I will make love to you. How and when that happens is up in the air right now, but what is not in doubt is that I will see you again.”
That finger moved over her lips, creating sensations that sparked a crazy feeling in the pit of her stomach once again. “We can’t,” she whispered, her stomach muscles tightening at his bald announcement that they would be intimate with each other. Oh goodness, that sounded so nice.
He smiled at the challenge she presented. She had no idea that her resistance was only making her more attractive to him. Initially, he might have thought it was all a ploy, but he suspected differently now. She was real. She was truly trying to avoid all contact with him, even though her efforts were pointless. “We will. And if you continue to refuse to see me, I will be forced into doing business with your father. So it is up to you. Only you can save me from that man’s unethical clutches. Either see me tomorrow, for lunch or dinner, your choice, or I will call your father tomorrow morning and start negotiating a deal with him about some waterfront property that I want to buy and he owns.”
She gasped, shaking her head. “Don’t do that! It would be really horrible! You will lose so much money and he’ll suck you into his horrible business world and you won’t be able to get out.” She didn’t realize that she was grabbing hold of the lapels of his jacket in her forcefulness to keep him out of her father’s business clutches.
He leaned in closer, his hand moving along her jaw, teasing the sensitive shell of her ear. “Then save me.”
She started to shake her head but he kissed her neck. “I don’t do business with anyone I’m personally involved with, Livia. It is a policy I have and I won’t violate it. If I’m having dinner with you, then that means I have a personal relationship with your father. I can’t do business with him. He will respect that.”
She closed her eyes and shivered when his lips nibbled along her collar bone. “He won’t respect any boundaries, Stefan. Just get out while you can. He doesn’t play by the rules.”
“He will. Trust me.” He moved higher on her neck, his teeth teasing her earlobe. “Save me,” he teased.
She pushed against his broad shoulders, her fingers discovering fascinating muscles underneath that tailored material. But she ignored that discovery, focusing only on the man and trying to keep him out of her father’s clutches. “Fine,” she sighed. “You win. Dinner tomorrow.”
He lifted his head from her neck and covered her mouth with his lips, kissing her deeply, loving the way her hands moved up to his neck faster this time. And she pressed herself against his body instead of waiting for him to do it. She was all soft wiggling need and he loved it!
When he pulled his mouth away, they were both breathing heavily. “Until tomorrow night, my beauty,” he said and kissed her lightly one more time.
Livia slipped into her apartment, her whole body shaking, quivering with need. She leaned against her apartment doorway, taking in deep breaths, trying to get control of herself once again. But it was impossible.
She barely slept that night, her body so on fire for the man that had turned her life upside down in less than an hour. By the time she dragged herself to work the following day, she accepted that there was no way she could go out with him that night. If this was what she was like when she was with him for less than an hour, she could not imagine what she would be like if she had to spend more time in his presence. And she shuddered to think of what might happen if he touched her as he had last night.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to call him to cancel their plans. She tried to slip away from a meeting, but her boss piled more work on her desk, giving her impossible deadlines. And every time she tried to look up Stefan’s phone number, something pulled her away. It was almost as if the world were conspiring against her, forcing her to meet him for dinner.
So, on her harried ride home through crazy traffic that night, she accepted that she had no alternative but to have dinner with the man. She could still call him up and cancel, but that would be rude at this late hour, wouldn’t it?
That evening, Livia dressed carefully. He’d texted her that he would pick her up at seven o’clock. Originally, she’d grimaced at the time. She was a morning person. She worked late most nights, trying to finish up her boss’s requirements, arriving home around seven-thirty and just falling into bed, exhausted and more than ready to shut her brain off.
Meeting Stefan for dinner meant that she wouldn’t get into bed in time to rejuvenate for tomorrow’s crazy workload, but was there really any alternative? Stefan was…well, she sort of liked him. Okay, so he was domineering but…
Livia sighed as she touched up her lipstick. Yes, she liked the way he’d kissed her. She’d liked it a lot! It was both soft and sensual while at the same time, demanding and passionate.
Her mother called just as she was slipping on a different pair of black pumps. These were the best she could afford since she refused to accept her father’s money. She lived off of her salary, which wasn’t a whole lot. So the shoes were more than a little scuffed, but less so than the other pair that she wore most days. She pulled open a kitchen drawer and sifted through the contents, coming up with a black marker. Carefully, so as not to ruin the wannabe-suede that hadn’t been damaged by too much wear and tear, she colored in the lighter spots on the shoes.
“Hi Mom. Are you okay?” she asked as she tried to make the shoes a wee bit more presentable.
“I’m fine, dear. I was calling to see how things went last night. Did you have a nice time with Mr. Kozlov?”
Livia froze, the pen hovering over a long, white streak where the “leather” had pulled away from the plastic heel. “How did you know I was with Stefan last night?” she asked carefully.
“Oh, goodness, you’re already on a first name basis with him! Your father will be thrilled, dear.”
Livia lowered the pen and shoe, taking her cell phone into her hand. “Mom, don’t tell dad anything. Leaving the party last night with Stefan, Mr. Kozlov,” she corrected quickly, “has nothing to do with anything in father’s business interests. In fact, I can’t imagine seeing him again,” she lied. But it was a lie for a good cause, she justified. If her father got wind of any personal relationship she had with Stefan, there was no telling what kind of pressure would be put on Stefan to go into business with him. He’d said that he didn’t do business with anyone he had a personal relationship with, but Stefan didn’t know how persuasive her father could be.
There was a moment of silence before her mother sighed. “I understand dear. But…” Livia cringed, anticipating what her mother might say. “Nothing. You have a good evening. Let me know when you have time for lunch, my dear.”
When she ended the call, Livia breathed a sigh of relief. She hated lying to her mother but there were times when it was safer to lie than put her mother into a position that she’d have to give bad news to Livia’s father. He was a brute and a bully and took his frustrations out on Livia’s mother.
She looked down at the shoe in her hand and blew a gust of air out of her mouth. Focusing on the marker and the scuff marks, she did the best job she could on the worn-out shoes. She’d have to replace them, she thought with an inner cringe at the expense. These were getting too messed up. This was perhaps the last time she’d be able to make them presentable.
Her dress was in much better shape and she twirled a bit as she surveyed the soft, pink dress in the mirror. It made her feel pretty, she realized. Pulling her soft, reddish-brown curls up on top of her head, she pinned the curls so that they weren’t going to bother her for the evening then…waited. She’d gotten ready too early, she thought as she glanced at the clock. It was still fifteen minutes until he was supposed to pick her up. Ugh! Livia hated waiting! She then paced across her apartment, waiting for seven o’clock and her doorbell to ring.
Maybe she should go downstairs, she thought. She opened her apartment door and stopped in her tracks. There was a light in the stairwell? Huh! Peering out the door, she realized that the parking lot light had been fixed as well! Go figure! That bodyguard must have some magic words, because the apartment manager was one of the laziest men she’d ever run into. He preferred to sit around and watch television in the office instead of taking care of the property. But the rent was cheap, the neighborhood relatively safe if one didn’t venture over too many blocks to the north or south, and the rooms were solid. She rarely heard her neighbors and the location was close to the highway which made her commute into her office each day a bit easier.
Pulling her eyes away from the new lights, she saw the elegant limousine pull up outside the building and she felt that strange, tingle of excitement that she tried to tamp down. Grabbing her purse and her keys, she stepped out of the apartment, made sure her door was locked, then hurried down the stairs, not wanting her neighbors to see the limousine.
Stefan was just stepping out of the back when she stepped off of the last stair, hurrying down the sidewalk to the car. “I’m here,” she said, a bit out of breath and promising herself that she would get to the gym so that she could build up her muscles and endurance again, just as soon as things slowed down again at work. It wouldn’t hurt her to lose some of this weight too. She hadn’t reached the point where it was bad, but some of her clothes were a bit more constricting than she preferred.
Stefan stepped out of the limousine and gazed down at the woman in the beautiful rose dress and a matching flush to her lovely cheeks. “You are supposed to wait for me to knock on your door, Livia,” he admonished.
Livia smiled brightly, not backing down despite the scowl on his handsome features. “Oh pish,” she said, waving aside his gallantry. “I’m perfectly capable of walking down the stairs without an escort. And why would I make you wait to come get me when I saw you pull up?”
She waited for his response, her head tilted back and she almost laughed at his increased scowl.
“Please have a seat, Livia,” he told her, obviously not having any response to her logic.
Livia dove into the back, tucking her skirt behind her for fear of revealing anything to this man who seemed to see everything. She was still smiling, feeling as if she’d accomplished some sort of victory when the limousine pulled up outside one of the most elegant restaurants in the city. She looked down at her dress, feeling distinctly self-conscious. The pink cotton would have been perfectly fine in any of the other establishments she normally frequented with her friends, but this elegant restaurant required something more, something special. “I can’t go in there,” she whispered, her eyes wide as she surveyed the other patrons who were entering, the women wearing elegant cocktail dresses and the men in suits and ties.
Stefan looked at the beautiful woman who was now mauling her full, lower lip and relented. As much as he wanted to treat this woman with special care, he realized that she would feel uncomfortable in this restaurant. “We’ll go somewhere else,” he replied. He snapped an order to his driver in Russian and the limousine immediately pulled away from the curb.
She looked back at the restaurant, then up at the man who was still watching her. “Don’t you need to call someone and tell them that you won’t be there?”
He shrugged. “My assistant will let them know, perhaps.”
She didn’t understand, but she wasn’t from his world. Her father was wealthy, but he hadn’t been the kind of man who threw his money around on his daughter. He had sent her to private schools with uniforms and strict rules about leaving the campus, but after high school, she’d paid for college on her own. Her father hadn’t seen the need to spend money on educating a female. She’d lived in a large house growing up, but other than the elaborate parties to entertain his clients, there hadn’t really been a great deal of wealth in the house. His office? That was a whole different issue. The few times she’d gone to his office, she’d noticed that he surrounded himself in very different surroundings. Nothing that really matched and all of it was a bit too modern and tacky for her taste, but she’d known that it was very expensive furniture.
“Look Stefan,” she started off, worried once again about the unknowns with this man. “I’m obviously not in your league. I just don’t…”
“We’re here,” he said, interrupting her and taking her hand. He slipped his tie off and tossed his jacket onto the seat opposite them. “Come,” he commanded, taking her hand and leading her out of the limousine.
When Livia stepped out, she blinked twice before she understood what she was looking at. They were no longer in the elegant part of London. This was more along the lines of…well, it was a dive! It was basically a shack with bars across the windows, extra boards holding up the roof and…was that a mattress somehow attached to the side of the building? She wasn’t aware of her mouth falling open as she peered at the dilapidated building. “Where are we?” she asked.
He took her hand and tucked it onto his arm. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “The food here is incredible. You’re going to love the chef. He’s a master when it comes to barbeque.”
Livia stared up at the man, astounded by the change in him. “We’re eating here?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes were wide with shock. “How do you know about this place?” she asked. There were layers to this man that she found fascinating.
“Ah, my beautiful lady, there are things about me that you’ll have to discover slowly. And savor them,” he teased. At least, she thought he was teasing. She wasn’t completely sure.
She’d thought she had him figured out but as they entered the establishment, she had to laugh and toss out all of her previous assumptions. The man went into the kitchen and greeted the cook, a big, barrel chested black man who at first, threatened to beat Stefan with the spatula and, in the next moment, the two men were hugging and speaking in a language she couldn’t even guess at.
When they were finished, Stefan turned and introduced Livia. “This is Mustafa,” she explained. “Mustafa, this is Livia and she’s terrified of eating here.” Livia’s eyes slashed up to Stefan’s, furious that he would reveal something like that. How had he even known that she was concerned? And she was only concerned, not terrified. There was a difference!
Mustafa laughed, a full bellied sound that echoed throughout the entire restaurant. “Ah, little lady. You’re about to discover one of the best kept secrets in all of the city! Go!” he commanded, waving his spatula and knife in the air. “I bring you food and you eat!” He looked up and down Livia’s delectable figure. “I bring you two meals, girly. You too skinny for this man. He’ll crush you when he makes love to you!”
Livia’s mouth fell open with that blatant announcement and she felt her cheeks fire up. Wanting to hide but unable to keep her eyes from flashing up to Stefan’s she cringed at the laughter in his eyes. And the agreement!
Stefan put his arm around her waist and led her out of the kitchen. They sat down at one of the tables that was surprisingly clean and a friendly woman with a turban brought over drinks. “You scaring this lovely lady?” she demanded of Stefan even while she bent over and gave him a hug.
“I’m terrifying her!” Stefan replied.
The lady laughed and turned to Livia. “Don’t take any crap from him, girly! Everyone in the business world thinks he’s a hotshot, but I know,” she announced, pounding her chest. She leaned over and said in a conspiratorial whisper, “He’s a softy!”
With a nod, she walked away. “Drink up!” she yelled a moment before she disappeared behind a pair of swinging doors.
Livia stared at her glass with wide, fascinated eyes. It actually wasn’t a glass but more of a jar, including the twisted edges. And Stefan’s “glass” was a completely different type of jar. Fascinating! “What is it?” she asked, taking a tentative sniff.
“Never ask,” Stefan told her and lifted his glass, taking a large swallow, hissing as it went down. “But don’t insult Danielle or she won’t bring you dessert. You’ll have to finish that entire drink before she’ll let you have dessert. And I promise, dessert will be worth the pain of that drink.”
Livia lifted the glass again and took a sip. The fire that traveled down her throat was unlike anything she’d ever experienced in her life. Her eyes were watering and she gripped the table, pretty sure the concoction was going to cause permanent blindness.
It took several moments of heavy breathing, but eventually, her eyes were able to focus and she looked across the table at Stefan. “You’re laughing at me,” she accused.
He didn’t even try to hide it now. “You should see your expression,” he said. “It is priceless.”
She shook her head as she stared down at her drink, thinking that it should come with a warning label. And maybe a hazardous material suit. “I don’t think this stuff is legal.”
“It’s possible,” he replied, taking another long swallow. “The second sip goes down a bit easier,” he promised.
Livia was skeptical, but she wasn’t sure she had a choice either. She lifted the glass once more and, sure enough, it wasn’t as horrible as the previous sip. “Okay, you were right.”
The burn sort of spread out, causing the rest of her body to feel warm and cozy. She leaned on her elbows and looked at him. “How does someone like you know about a place like this?” she asked.
His eyes flared once again and she was nervous about the heat, wondering what was going on in that intelligent brain of his. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll answer that if you’ll tell me something about yourself that no one else knows.”
She considered that for a few moments before agreeing. “Deal.” There were lots of things about her that no one knew and providing him a piece of information didn’t seem very threatening.
“I own the place,” was all he said.
She waited but when she realized that he wasn’t going to say anything more, she shook her head. “Oh no! Explain that statement. You’re not getting away with anything like that.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Tell me a secret of yours and I’ll expound.”
She leaned back in her chair, taking her drink right along with her, considering her options. “I draw,” was all she said. “Now explain.”
When he waited for more information and she simply stared back at him with her dark eyebrows lifting higher. He chuckled at her challenge – a deep, wonderful sound that she thought could be the sexiest thing she’d ever heard.
“Touché, my beauty.” He leaned back in his chair as well. “Mustafa used to be the cook at the boarding school I attended as a kid. He wasn’t allowed a whole lot of freedom in what he cooked for the students. Me and a few of my friends got caught stealing some of his kitchen supplies for,” he paused, considering his words carefully, “a social event,” was all he finally said and Livia knew that there was a whole lot more to that story as well. “He made us promise that we would set him up in a restaurant when we all made our fortunes.”
She looked around at the restaurant. “And this is what you gave him?”
“Hell no,” Stefan laughed. “Mustafa also is the chef at the other restaurant I was going to take you to. He just likes to cook. He doesn’t care where. So he shifts around to the various restaurants and cooks whatever he likes.”
Livia’s eyes widened at that comment. “You mean he manages others?” She was sipping the drink that went down much more smoothly now.
Stefan shrugged. “He has five of them, all decorated by a friend of mine.” He chuckled when Livia looked around at the décor. “Yes, she even decorated this one. Mustafa told her what he wanted and she created it. She’s a genius.”
Livia wiggled in her chair, feeling jealous at his admiration for this unknown woman. “She must be pretty special to you, from the way you’re talking about her.”
Stefan grunted slightly. “She’s a pain in the ass, meddles in all of our business and is in love with one of my best friends, but yes, she’s pretty special.”
Livia relaxed when he mentioned that the other woman was in love with another man but didn’t examine too closely why she should even care. It wasn’t as if she was going to have a real relationship with this man. He was too big for her taste. Too big everywhere, she noticed, her eyes moving over his broad shoulders and the muscles that pulled the material of his sleeves taut.
Stefan’s body reacted almost instantly when he noticed her eyes moving over his body. And when she licked her lips, he had to hold himself back from lifting her up from her chair across the table from him and placing her in his lap where he could kiss her. Damn, she was beautiful, he thought.
“So tell me about your job,” he said, trying to distract his mind from the glazed look in her eyes.
Livia had to force her gaze upwards when he spoke, pulling her eyes away from those shoulders and her fascination with what might be hidden by that tailored shirt. Goodness, she silently admonished herself, this was not her! She was the quiet, shy type! She didn’t stare at a man’s physique like he would be more delicious than whatever was cooking in the kitchen! After years of living in her father’s household, she wasn’t really interested in a relationship. She was more interested in enjoying her freedom, reveling in how good it felt to know that she could do what she wanted without cowering in fear. Not that she would do that! No way! She’d never done it with her father and she wasn’t putting herself into a relationship where she would fear another person.
Hmmm...well, there were days, and a few nights, when she would sneak out through her bedroom window when he came home raging mad and disgustingly drunk. The one time she’d finally gotten up the nerve to call the police when her father had started smacking her mother around had been bad. He’d charmed the police and then, when the police were gone, he’d smacked her mother harder for daring to call the police. When Livia had stood up to him, told him that she was the one that had called the police and not her mother, her father had started towards her, a furious look in his eyes. The only thing that had saved Livia from a harsh beating that night was her mother stepping in front of her, taking the hit herself.
“What just happened?” Stefan asked softly, gently touching her hand with his long fingers.
Livia jerked out of the past and stared into his eyes. They were kind eyes, she thought suddenly. But was she going to admit to this strong, commanding man that she’d hidden under her bed some nights, just so she didn’t have to listen to her father yell at her mother? No way! The shame of her past was something to be buried. Ignored.
“I’m fine,” she said and took another sip of her drink. She should move her hand away, she told herself. She should stop him from touching her. It wasn’t right.
But it felt incredibly good. “Tell me about yourself.”
“I’m a marketing person,” she told him and then her innate honesty kicked in and she grimaced across the table at him. “Actually, I’m a gopher. My title might say marketing assistant, but what I really do is run around for my boss.”
“And you like this job?” he asked skeptically.
She shrugged one shoulder. Not the shoulder connected to the arm that he was touching. She didn’t move that arm, too afraid that she might dislodge his touch. Goodness, she was being ridiculous by being afraid of the man but wanting that slight touch. Just move away from him, she told herself mentally. Put her hands underneath the table!
But she didn’t. For some reason, she left her hand there, her skin feeling like it was on fire, but in a good way. A terrifying and crazy way. All the more reason why she should move. But she didn’t.
She glanced up at him, trying to remember what they were discussing. Work! Right! Her job. “I have to pay my dues,” she finally told him. Wow, this drink tasted really good now! She took another sip and stared at him, thinking that he really was a handsome man. If only he didn’t scare the bejeezus out of her with the way he was looking at her. The heat in those silver eyes made her feel very warm. Or perhaps it was the drink, she wasn’t sure.
“And that means being a slave to your boss?”
Livia smiled at his interpretation of her position. She hadn’t said as much, but his comment was accurate. “Well, yes, actually,” she replied.
He shook his head. “No. That’s not the way it works.”
Livia felt a bit more brave now that she’d been drinking the strong concoction. Leaning forward, she stared into his dark eyes. “Are you telling me that you don’t run your assistant ragged most days?”
He shrugged one of those massive shoulders and her eyes skimmed over them once again. “My assistant is very efficient,” he countered.
She smiled and missed the increased heat in his eyes because she looked down at her glass. “Which is a veiled way of saying yes without admitting it. But I’ll take it as a point made.”
He shook his head. “No, my assistant has been working with me for about fifteen years and can anticipate my requests. So sometimes she gets things done before I ask.”
Livia smiled. “What time do you get into the office?” she asked, determined to prove her point.
He did it again! Was he shifting those glorious shoulders to torment her? He caught her eye for a moment and Livia promised herself she wasn’t going to look at those shoulders, or the bulging muscles in his arms. “It varies.”
Keeping herself from laughing at his attempt to evade, she leaned forward slightly. “In general,” she countered, not letting him get away with anything.
Stefan knew where she was going with this, but she was leaning forward, giving him a glimpse of the shadow between her breasts so he didn’t give a damn. “About six or seven.”
“Me too,” she laughed. “And what time does your assistant get in?”
“About the same time, depending on what is going on.”
She made a strange sound. “My boss gets in around nine,” she commented, thinking about that for a moment before she shook her head and focused back on Stefan. “And what time do you leave each night?” Had those mysterious eyes dropped down to her breasts? The thought gave her a surge of feminine power and tingling excitement.
“That depends.”
Livia rolled her eyes. “In general!” she replied, but couldn’t stop the smile from forming on her lips because he really was handsome. And charming. And big!
“Generally, I leave about six or seven at night.”
“And your assistant is there until that time as well, right?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “But I pay her well.”
Livia laughed and shook her head. “No. I would wager that you don’t pay her well enough. And she probably skips lunches to get things done for you and you don’t even know it.”
Stefan named a salary that made Livia gasp. “You’re kidding! You don’t pay your assistant that much!”
His only response was to lift a dark eyebrow.
Livia slumped back into her chair. “Okay, I’m underpaid and overworked,” she grumbled.
Danielle arrived at that point, her arms loaded down with plates of food. Her eyes moved over Livia’s flushed cheeks and laughed softly. “Girly, you are too skinny for that drink, I’m thinking. You’re switching to water.” Her eyes moved over to Stefan. “I’m not going to contribute to this man getting you into his big, comfy bed tonight.” With those words, and her laughter at Livia’s painfully red cheeks, she set down enormous plates filled with food. There was an enormous pile of barbeque on both plates along with potato salad, coleslaw and green beans with what looked to be bacon chopped up in it. She also placed a basket filled with warm corn bread and a bowl of creamy butter. “You make sure she eats everything,” she instructed Stefan. “Mustafa told me to bring her two helpings, but I don’t think a skinny woman like her can even finish off one of these plates.” And with that challenge, she walked away, leaving Livia to stare at the enormous amount of food in front of her.
“Dig in,” Stefan commanded. “It is amazingly good food,” he promised.
Never in her life had Livia thought of herself as “skinny”. She’d had moments when she’d felt thin, but most of the time, she was struggling to lose ten pounds or however much she thought she needed to lose in order to feel “skinny”. So hearing Danielle tell her that she was too thin felt wonderful. Having Stefan’s eyes skim over her figure? Well, that felt…odd. She wasn’t sure what to think when he did that all-encompassing glance but she felt strange tingles low in her belly.
Livia pushed the tingles aside as insignificant, then lifted her fork and took a tentative bite of the barbeque. When the flavors hit her tongue, she closed her eyes and sighed. “Oh my,” she whispered reverently. “This is incredible!”
“I know.” Stefan shook his head as he took another bite. “I have no idea what he puts into this stuff, but it is the best barbeque I’ve ever tasted.”
Livia had to agree with him but she was too busy eating to say anything more. Stefan watched her eating with gusto and was more turned on than he’d thought possible. This wasn’t a woman who watched her weight by starving herself. He admired her figure, no doubt about it, but he loved the way she ate! Damn, she was beautiful.
He asked her more questions about her life and her work, noticing that there were certain issues she avoided and others that she was more open about. But as they finished off the last of their meal, Stefan was determined to find out everything he could about this woman.
“We need to get out of here,” he growled when she finally laid down the spoon after licking it clean of the chocolate dessert. Just watching her, he was hard and ready to make love to her right here on the restaurant table. In fact, he was having a difficult time trying to keep his hands from reaching out and sliding up her perfect figure. If he didn’t get her out of here, he wasn’t sure what his Livia-starved brain might do. It was safer to just get her to a private place and have his way with her delectable body.
Livia instantly stood up, feeling full and happy, not to mention very feminine and sexy because of the way he’d been watching her during their meal. She didn’t even hesitate when he took her hand in his and walked out of the restaurant. “Where are we going now?” she asked, eager to be with him.
“My place,” he said when they were standing out in the warm, moist air of the summer night.
Livia pulled back, looking up at him with instantly wary eyes. “No. That’s not going to happen.” All the happiness she’d been feeling a moment ago dissipated and she pulled her hand out of his.
Stefan moved in closer, causing her heart rate to skyrocket. “Why are you pretending like there isn’t a strong attraction between us, Livia?” he asked softly, shifting even closer.
She shook her head, wishing she wasn’t trembling so badly. Please, she thought, don’t let him notice her nervousness! “No, Stefan. It isn’t going to happen. Whatever you have going on inside that brilliant brain of yours, just stop it from taking the next step. We’re not doing that.”
“You think so?”
His hand moved to her waist, inching higher until she grabbed his wrist. Even her resistance was turning him on for some reason. It was the first time it had happened. Ever! Even in high school, the women had thrown themselves at him and he’d loved it. But there was something new and exciting about Livia trying to stop what they both had to know was going to happen. The tension between them was just too strong, too intense. “It is going to happen, Livia. It is inevitable.”
She shook her head, unaware of the way her hair floated around her shoulders, looking beautiful and sexy as hell. She was breathless, wanting him to shift his fingers, but terrified of what might happen if he did. “Nothing is inevitable. We’re all masters of our destinies and we have freedom to choose.”
He smiled slightly. “And you think you’re choosing not to have sex with me?” he asked, curious about her refusal. “You think you can ignore what happens when we touch?” He paused, his hand moving higher and he heard the sharp intake of her breath when his hand moved along her slender ribcage, felt her grip loosen as she felt the same thing he was dealing with. “You don’t want to like this, but there’s no way we can ignore it.”
“We can!” she gasped when his fingers shifted again. She closed her eyes and tried to pretend that his hand wasn’t branding her through her cotton dress, that her body wasn’t swaying towards him and that she wasn’t biting her lip to stop herself from begging him to just make the decision for her. “Stefan, please…” she begged.
“Tell me what you want,” he told her, leaning down and kissing her neck. The traffic on the busy street behind her disappeared from her conscious thought. The ramshackle restaurant, the chauffer waiting inside the long, black vehicle and the bodyguards that were stationed at the corners of the parking lot…everything fading from consciousness. All she could think about was this man and the way his lips were moving over her neck, tickling her ear and sending sparks of desire throughout her whole body, every one of them making a bee-line for that place between her legs that had never felt anything like this before.
“I don’t…”
“No, Livia,” he coaxed softly. “I don’t want to hear what you don’t want. I want to hear what you do want, what makes you feel good, what makes your head spin?”
“This,” she finally said, sighing as his hand slipped even higher, resting just under her breast and she shivered, wanting that hand to move higher. Never had she ever wanted a man to touch her breasts before. And when they had, she’d only been disgusted, irritated even. But when this man’s hand stilled, the hand still holding his wrist took charge and moved his hand higher.
When those fingers curled around the fullness of her breast, she could no longer hold her head upright. It fell back, her mind spinning out of control.
Stefan watched the woman’s reactions and thought he could easily make love to her right here, standing in the almost empty parking lot.
Pulling her forward, he tucked her into the vehicle, barking out the order to take them back to her apartment. He wanted her with an intensity that was almost out of control and he needed to get her to a private place. Fast.
As soon as the door closed, the driver pulled away and Stefan pulled her onto his lap. He was relieved when she came willingly which only told him that she was just as involved as he was in this moment.
Bending his head, he kissed her, feeling the trembling as his mouth discovered her taste and wrapping his arms around her, trying to show her that this would be okay.
“Stefan,” she said softly when he lifted his mouth to move against her neck once more.
“Say my name again,” he commanded gruffly, moving his hands along her legs, sliding the cotton material of her dress out of his way. He wanted to see her, needed to look at her.
She jumped when she felt his hands on her thighs, her body shuddering as unexplainable feelings assaulted her senses. “No!” she gasped. “Please, you’re moving too fast for me!” she cried out but wasn’t able to stop him because, despite her fears and confusion, what he was doing to her felt too incredibly wonderful.
Stefan lifted his head and stopped the forward moment of his hands. But it took all of his effort to do so. “What’s wrong, Livia? Why are you so nervous? I can feel you trembling but you have to know that I won’t hurt you.”
She smiled tremulously. “I can’t…” she shook her head, her eyes pleading with him to understand. “You don’t…I can’t…” She sighed and clasped her hands together. “I’ve never done this,” she finally blurted out, then regretted that statement when she saw the shock in his eyes.
She slid off of his lap and pushed her dress back down over her knees. “I know, I’m silly but…”
Stefan was having a hard time understanding. “Never?” he asked, his voice showing his shock and disbelief.
Livia looked out the window, trying to hide the hurt she was feeling at his horror of her virginal status. “I’m not a freak,” she told him. The driver pulled up outside of her apartment and she stepped out, not waiting for the driver to open the door or even for Stefan to climb out. “Thank you for dinner. The food was wonderful. Please tell Mustafa that he’s the best.” With that, she closed the door and ran up the stairs, refusing to look back for fear she’d see him laughing.
She slammed her apartment door closed and leaned against it, staring up at the ceiling and getting angry at herself for admitting her innocence to a man like Stefan. She could picture him laughing with his friends, telling all of them about the crazy woman he’d taken out to dinner that had never had sex!
A knock on her door startled her and she spun around.
“Livia! Open the door,” Stefan commanded.
She opened the door, but only so that his booming voice wouldn’t disturb her neighbors.
As soon as it was open, he pushed the door wider and closed it behind him. “This isn’t over, Livia,” he told her firmly. A moment later, his arm swooped around her waist, pulling her against him. His mouth covered hers before she could utter a protest and she was once again lost in the sensuous haze that he wrapped around her mind.
But before she could even start to respond to his kiss, he pulled away. “We’re not finished,” he told her again, softly this time and the announcement was followed by his fingers running along her jaw.
The next moment, he was gone, the door to her apartment closing carefully behind him and she was staring at the wood panel, trying to understand what had just happened.