Taking the Boss to Bed

by Joss Wood

  “My pursuit of you annoys Ryan and that puts him off guard. I like him off guard. But I do find you attractive and taking you from Ryan would be an added bonus.” After a minute, he finally spoke again. “I like to have control in a relationship, whether that’s business or personal.”

  That made complete sense, Jaci thought. “And Ryan won’t be controlled.”

  “He will if he wants my money.” Leroy’s smile was as malicious as a snakebite. He lifted his hand and the tip of his index finger touched her bare shoulder and drifted down the inside of her arm. “He’ll toe the line. They always do. Everyone has their price.”

  “I don’t. Neither does Ryan.”

  “Everyone does. You just don’t know what it is yet and neither do I.”

  There was a relentless determination in his eyes that made her think he was being deadly serious.

  “This conversation has become far too intense,” Leroy calmly stated. “You do intrigue me... You’re very different from what I am used to, from the women I usually meet.”

  “Because I’m not rich, or plastic, or crazy?” Jaci demanded.

  Leroy’s laugh sounded like sandpaper on glass and it was as creepy as his smile. “At first, perhaps. But mostly you fascinate me because Ryan is fascinated by you. I want to know why.”

  There was that one-upmanship again, Jaci thought. What was with this guy and his need to feel superior to Ryan? The chip on his shoulder was the size of a redwood tree. Didn’t he realize that few men could compete with Ryan? Ryan was a natural leader, utterly and completely masculine, and one of his most attractive traits was the fact that he didn’t care what people thought about him.

  Leroy had a better chance of corralling the wind than he did of controlling Ryan. Why couldn’t he see that? Couldn’t he see Ryan was never going to kowtow to him, that he would never buckle?

  Ryan marched to the beat of his own drum.

  “Everything okay here?”

  Jaci whirled around at Ryan’s voice and reached for the glass of wine she’d ordered. Taking a big sip, she looked at him over her glass, her expression confused and uneasy.

  “Everything is fine,” Leroy said.

  Ryan ignored him and kept his eyes on Jaci’s face. “Jace?”

  Jaci drank in his strong, steady presence and nodded. He held her stare for a while longer and eventually his expression cleared. He finally handed over Leroy’s glass into his waiting hand, accompanied by a hard stare. Ryan wasn’t a fool. He knew that words had been exchanged and Jaci knew that he’d demand to know what they’d discussed. How serious was Leroy’s need to control Ryan? Jaci wasn’t as smart about these things as her siblings were, but with her career and Ryan’s film on the line, she couldn’t afford to shove her head in the sand and play ostrich.

  The lights flickered and Ryan placed his hand on her lower back. “Time to head back in,” he said.

  As Ryan led her back to their seats, Jaci thought that they had to manage the situation and, right now, she was the only pawn on the chessboard. If she removed herself, Ryan and Leroy wouldn’t have anything to tussle over. But they couldn’t admit to their lie about being a couple; that would have disastrous consequences. But what if they upped the stakes, what if they showed Leroy that she was, in no uncertain terms, off-limits forever? Right now, as Ryan’s girlfriend, there was room for doubt... Maybe they should remove all doubt.

  Not giving herself time to talk herself out of the crazy idea that popped into her head, she stopped to allow an older couple to walk into the theater in front of her and slipped her hand into Ryan’s, resting her head on his shoulder. She sent Leroy a cool smile. “There is one other thing your PI didn’t dig up, Leroy.”

  Ryan’s body tensed. “PI? What PI?”

  Jaci ignored him and kept her eyes on Leroy’s face. She watched as his eyebrows lifted, those eyes narrowed in focus. “And what might that be?”

  Here goes, Jaci thought. In for a penny and all that, upping the stakes, throwing the curveball. “He wouldn’t know that Ryan and I are deeply in love and that we are talking about marriage.” She tossed Ryan an arch look. “I expect to be engaged really soon and I can’t wait to wear Ryan’s ring.”

  Six

  What.

  The.

  Hell?

  Two hours and a couple of lukewarm congratulations from Leroy later, and Ryan was still reeling from Jaci’s surprise announcement and “what the hell” or other variations of the theme kept bouncing around his head. Leaving the theater, back teeth grinding, he guided Jaci through the door, his hand on her back. She’d, once again and without discussion, flipped his world on its head. Thinking about marriage? Did she ever think before she acted?

  On the sidewalk, Ryan saw a scruffy guy approaching them from his right, an expensive camera held loosely in his hands, and he groaned. He immediately recognized Jet Simons. He was one of the most relentless—and annoying—tabloid reporters on the circuit. Part journalist, part paparazzo, all sleaze. Ryan knew this because the guy practically stalked him in the month following Ben’s death. Jet had witnessed his grief and every day Ryan would pray that Jet wouldn’t capture his anger at Ben and his pain at being betrayed by his brother and Kelly. He definitely hadn’t wanted Jet to capture how alone he felt, how isolated. Soul-sucking bottom-feeder.

  Ryan sent a back-the-hell-off look in his direction, which, naturally, Simons ignored. Dammit, he needed him around as much he needed a punch in the kidneys. Ryan grabbed Jaci’s hand, hoping to walk away before they were peppered with questions.

  “Leroy Banks and Jax Jackson,” Simons drawled, stepping up to them and lifting his camera, the flash searing their eyes. “How’s it hanging, guys?”

  “Get out of my face or I’m going to shove that camera where it hurts,” Ryan growled, pushing the lens away. Unlike the actors he worked with who played a cat-and-mouse game with the press, he didn’t need to make nice with the rats.

  The flash went off another few times and Ryan growled. He was about to make good on his threat when Simons lowered the camera and looked over it to give Jaci a tip-to-toe look, his gaze frankly appreciative. Ryan felt another snarl rumble in his throat and reminded himself that Jaci was his pretend girlfriend and that he had no right to feel possessive over her. The acid in his stomach still threatened to eat a hole through its lining.

  Just punch him, caveman Ryan said from his shoulder, you’ll feel so much better after.

  Yeah, but sitting in jail on assault charges would suck.

  “So, you’re Jaci Brookes-Lyon,” Simons said, his eyes appreciative. “Not Jax’s usual type, I’ll grant you that.”

  Ryan squeezed Jaci’s hand in a silent reminder not to respond. It was good advice, and he should listen to it, especially since he still wanted to shove that lens down Simons’s throat or up his...

  “Mr. Banks, how you doing? You still in bed with Jackson? Figuratively speaking, that is? Where’s Mrs. Banks?” Simons machine-gunned his words. “What do you think about Jax’s little sweetie here? Do you think she is another six-weeker or does she have the potential to be more?”

  Ryan heard Jaci’s squawk of outrage but his attention was on Leroy’s face, and his slow smile made Ryan’s balls pull up into his body. Dammit, he was going to dump them right in it. He knew it as he knew his own signature. Ryan’s mind raced, desperate for a subject change, but before he could even try to turn the conversation Leroy spoke again. “They are talking about marriage, so maybe I suspect she does—” he waited a beat before speaking again “—have potential, that is.”

  Ryan let fly with a creative curse and shook his head when he realized that his outburst just added a level of authenticity to Banks’s statement. He knew that a vein was threatening to pop in his neck and he released a clenched fist. Maybe he should just punch Leroy, as well, and make his jail stay
worth his while.

  “So you’re engaged?” Simons demanded, his face alight with curiosity.

  “Look, that’s not exactly...” Jaci tried to explain but Ryan tightened his grip on her hand and she muttered a low “Ow.”

  “Stop talking,” Ryan ordered in her ear before turning back to Simons and pinning him to the floor with a hard glance. “Get the hell out of my face.”

  Simons must have realized that he was dancing on his last nerve because he immediately took a step backward and lifted his hands in a submissive gesture. Wuss, Ryan internally scoffed as he watched him walk away. When Simons was out of earshot, Ryan finally settled his attention on Banks and allowed him to see how pissed he was with him, too. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, Banks, but it stops right now.”

  Leroy shrugged. “I am the one financing your film so you don’t get to talk to me like that.”

  Wusses. He was surrounded by them tonight.

  “I haven’t seen any of your money so you’re not in any position to demand a damn thing from me,” Ryan said, keeping his voice ice cold. Cold anger, he realized a long time ago, was so much more effective than ranting and raving. “And even if we do still do business together, it’ll always be my movie. You will never call the shots. Think about that and come back to me if you think those are terms you can live with.”

  Banks flushed under Ryan’s hard stare and Ryan thought that it was a perfect time to throw in one last threat. “And this thing you have for my girlfriend stops right here. Leave her the hell alone.”

  “Ryan...” Jaci tried to speak as he pulled her toward a taxi sitting behind Leroy’s limo and yanked the door open. He bundled her inside and when she was seated, he gripped the sides of the door and glared at her. This was all her and her big mouth’s fault! What the hell had she been thinking by telling Leroy that they were talking about marriage? And how could he still be so intensely angry with her but still want to rip her clothes off? How could he want to strangle and kiss her at the same time?

  He was seriously messed up. Had been since this crazy woman dropped back into his life.

  “Not one damn word,” he ordered before slamming the door closed and walking around the back of the cab. He slid inside and Jaci opened her mouth again.

  “Ryan, I need you to understand why—”

  God, she seriously wasn’t listening. “What part of ‘not one damn word’ didn’t you understand?” he growled after he tossed the address to her place to the driver up front.

  “I understand that you are angry—”

  “Shut. Up.” Ryan felt as if a million spiders were dancing under his skin and that his temper was bubbling, looking for a way to escape. He’d spent his teenage years with a volatile father who didn’t give a damn about him, and when he did pay him some attention, it was always negative. He’d learned to ignore the disparaging comments, to show no reaction and definitely no emotion. His father had fed off drama, had enjoyed baiting him, so he’d learned not to lose control, but tonight he was damn close. Engaged? Him? The man who, thanks to his brother and Kelly, rarely dated beyond six weeks? Who would believe it? And he was engaged to Jaci, who wasn’t exactly his type...mostly because she wasn’t like the biddable, eager-to-please women he normally dated. God, he hadn’t even slept with Jaci yet and he was halfway to being hitched? On what planet in what freaking galaxy was that fair?

  “I need to explain. Leroy—”

  Okay, obviously she had no intention of keeping quiet, and he had two options left to him. To strip sixteen layers of skin off her or to shut her up in the only way he knew how. Deciding to opt for the second choice, he twisted, leaned over and slapped his mouth on hers. He dimly heard her yelp of surprise, and taking advantage of her open mouth, he slid his tongue inside...

  His world flipped over again as he licked into her mouth, his tongue sliding over hers. She tasted of mint and champagne and heated surprise. The scent of her perfume, something light but fresh, enveloped him and his hands tightened on her hips, his fingers digging into the fabric of the dress he’d helped her choose, the dress he so desperately wanted to whip off her to discover what lay underneath. The backs of his fingers skimmed the side of her torso, bumped up and over her ribs, across the swelling of her breasts. He wanted to cup her, to feel her nipple pucker into his hand, but he was damned if he’d give the taxi driver a free show. Knowing her, discovering her, could wait until later. He needed to delay gratification, even if his erection felt as if it was being strangled by his pants. He could do it but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

  He wanted her. He wanted all of her...

  Jaci yanked him back to the present by whipping her mouth off his and pushing herself into the corner of the cab, as far away from him as possible. “What are you doing?”

  That was obvious, wasn’t it? “Kissing you.”

  Dark eyes flashed her annoyance. “You tell me to shut up and then you kiss me? Are you crazy?”

  That was highly possible.

  “You wouldn’t shut up,” Ryan pointed out, his temper reigniting as he remembered her stupid declaration.

  “You wouldn’t let me explain,” Jaci retorted.

  “Yeah, I can’t wait to see what you come up with.” Ryan retreated to his corner of the cab, knowing that a muscle was jumping in his cheek. “Why would you make up such a crazy story? Are you that desperate to be engaged, to show the world that someone wants to marry you, that you would just go off half-cocked? I don’t want to be engaged. God, I’ve been battling to wrap my head around having a fake girlfriend, and now I have a fake fiancée? And that it’s you? Jesus!”

  Ryan would never have believed it possible if he didn’t witness her already brown-black eyes darken to coals. Anger and pride flashed but he couldn’t miss the hurt, couldn’t help but realize that he’d pushed one button too many, that he’d gone too far. He fumbled for words as she turned away to stare out the window, her hands in a death grip in her lap.

  But God, his work was his life and she was screwing with it. He wanted that hundred million, he wanted to share the risk with an investor. And the one he’d had on his hook he’d just cut loose because of this woman and her way of speaking without thinking, of screwing up his life.

  And it killed him to know that if she made one move to sleep with him, even kiss him, he’d be all over her like a rash. He was a reasonably smart guy, a guy who’d had more than his fair share of gorgeous women, but this one had him tied up in knots.

  Not.

  Cool.

  Thinking that he needed separation from her before he did something stupid—not that this entire evening hadn’t been anything but one long stupidity—he reached across her and pushed her door open. Jaci seemed as eager to get away from him as he was from her, and she quickly scrambled out of the cab, giving him a superexcellent flash of a long, supple leg and the white garter holding up a thigh-high stocking. He felt the rush of blood to his groin and had to physically restrain himself from bolting after her and finding out whether the rest of her lingerie was up to the fantastic standard her garters set.

  Ryan banged the back of his head on the seat as he watched Jaci walk toward the doormen standing on the steps of her building. She was trying to kill him, mentally and sexually.

  It was the only explanation he could come up with.

  * * *

  Jaci, vibrating with fury, stood outside Ryan’s swanky apartment building in Lenox Hill and stormed into the lobby, startling the dozy concierge behind the desk. He blinked at her and rubbed his hand over his face before lifting his hefty bulk to his feet.

  “Help you?”

  Jaci forced herself to unclench her jaw so that she could speak. “Please tell Ryan Jackson that Jaci Brookes-Lyon is here to see him.”

  Deputy Dog Doorman looked doubtful. “It’s pretty late, miss. Is he expecting y
ou?”

  Jaci’s molars ground together. “Just call him. Please?”

  She received another uncertain look but he reached for the phone and dialed an extension. Within twenty seconds she was told that Ryan had agreed to see her—how kind of him!—and she was directed to the top floor.

  “What number?” she demanded, turning on her spiked heel, wishing that she’d changed out of the dress she’d worn to the ballet before she’d stormed out of her apartment to confront him in his.

  “No number. Mr. Jackson’s apartment is on the top floor, is the top floor.” The doorman sighed at her puzzled expression. “He has the penthouse apartment, miss.”

  “The penthouse?”

  “Mr. Jackson recently purchased one of the most sought-after residences in the city, ma’am. Ten thousand square feet, four bedrooms with a wraparound terrace. Designer finishes, with crown moldings, high ceilings and custom herringbone floors,” the concierge proudly explained.

  “Good for him,” Jaci muttered and headed for the elevator, the doorman on her heels. At the empty elevator, the doorman keyed in a code on the control panel on the wall and gestured her inside. “The elevator opens directly into his apartment, so guests need to be authorized to go up.”

  Whatever, Jaci thought, as the doors started to close.

  “Have a good evening, miss.”

  She heard the words slide between the almost closed doors and she knew that she was about to have anything but. She’d been heading up to her apartment, intending to lick her wounds, when she’d suddenly felt intensely angry. It made her skin prickle and her throat tighten. How dare Ryan treat her as if she was something he’d caught on the bottom of his shoe? He’d refused to let her speak, had ignored her pleas to allow her to explain and had acted as if she were an empty-headed bimbo who should be grateful to spend any time she could in his exalted presence. And how stupid was he to challenge Leroy like that? It was entirely possible that he’d decimated any chance of Leroy funding Blown Away with his harshly uttered comments... And he accused her of acting rashly!