Lana hesitated for only a moment. “I was thinking about how broad your shoulders look tonight.”
He smiled and lifted his glass. “Are they usually narrow and wimpy?” he teased.
Lana blushed and looked down, but laughed softly. It was nice that he felt he could tease her. “No. Your shoulder are always deliciously sexy.”
“Nice to know.”
She rolled her eyes. “As if you weren’t already aware of your appeal to the entire female population.”
“I don’t care about the whole female population, Lana. I only care about what you enjoy.”
Nice words, she thought. Pretty and…almost too perfect. Changing the subject, she asked, “What about your parents? Where do they live?”
“My parents died when I was young and I was in foster care for a while. But then my aunt came back, plucked me out of the home I was in, and adopted me. Apparently, she and my mother hadn’t been on speaking terms for a while. So she had no idea that I even existed.”
“How awful!” Lana gasped. The food was delicious, but the story was even more interesting. “How long between when your mother passed away and when your aunt found you?”
“I don’t know. It was a few years, I guess, but I didn’t have a good sense of time then. I was too young. All I know was that my Aunt Rose discovered my existence and took care of me.”
“What happened next?” she asked as she stabbed a ripe, juicy tomato.
There was a small smile, but the amusement didn’t enter his eyes as he said, “I was fairly behind in school. My foster mother wasn’t very good about getting her wards to school. Most days, me and the other foster kids left the house early to find food and wreaked havoc on the neighborhood.”
Lana watched, wondering about the hard look in his eyes. Resentment? Fear? Anger? “But…how old were you during this period of your life?”
“About five or six. Young,” he explained. “Too young to be out on the streets. Especially with the older kids who were far more adventurous.”
Fascinated, she tilted her head, wanting to know more. None of this was in his biography and she doubted that many people knew that the illustrious billionaire was ever in foster care, much less had fallen behind in school. And a street rat? No, Lana doubted anyone knew that. “What happened to you? What did you do?”
He shrugged again. “The police were pretty kind to me, I guess. The older boys were always arrested, but the officers brought me back to the precinct for a talk and an ice cream cone, trying to save me, I suppose.”
“Did it work?”
He laughed, a short, harsh sound that didn’t indicate amusement. The opposite, in fact. “Not really. At the time, I didn’t have any other role models, nothing else to do with my day. I wasn’t sure what was going on at school, so I didn’t go. The administrators didn’t know that we existed since my foster mother didn’t register us for school.”
“Why not? It would seem that school would be an easy place for your foster parent to put you during the day.”
He shook his head. “She was too busy getting drunk to bother doing anything supportive.”
That bothered Lana on so many levels. But she moved on. “What happened after your aunt found you? What did she do?”
“She took me back to her house, cleaned me up, and got me registered for school. On my first day of second or third grade, my teachers told my aunt that I was slow and clearly had mental challenges. They told my aunt that I needed special classes and that I would never amount to much.”
Lana stared at the man who had built a massive business empire by his mid-thirties. “Your teachers thought you were challenged?” She was stunned for a long moment, then covered her mouth with her hand, trying to smother her laughter. She didn’t want to come across as insensitive, but…his teachers were very very wrong! “So? Finish the story,” she prompted, fascinated.
“Well, my aunt started tutoring me in the evenings. Eventually, she realized that I was pretty smart and home schooled me. She told my uncle that she’d work with me until I was caught up with the other students.”
Lana grinned suddenly, knowing where his story was heading. “But you surpassed them, didn’t you?”
“In one year, she was able to teach me to read and write. After that, I read everything I could get my hands on. I loved reading. And math came naturally to me.”
Lana sighed, shaking her head. “Math was always a mystery to me. The teachers would draw squiggly lines on the board and I’d be confused almost from the start.”
“I think that every person excels at something in some way. Math was just my area of expertise. I enjoyed the numbers and the challenge.” He took another sip of champagne. “What is your area of expertise?” he asked.
Lana swallowed, thinking about her art work. Art that sold extremely well due to Linda’s business savvy marketing plan. But Lana’s art was her secret escape. She didn’t want Christoph to know anything about that. It was her refuge!
She shrugged. “I’m good with colors and artsy things,” she admitted vaguely. At least it was a half-truth and not an outright lie.
Christoph wasn’t sure what was going on. Moments ago, she was open and interested, listening and alert. But at the mention of what she liked to do, Lana’s eyes shuttered and her body language closed off.
A mystery, he thought. There was something she didn’t want him to know about. He should probably be upset at the fact that she was hiding something. But his gut was telling him that she wasn’t doing it maliciously. She was…protecting herself. Yes, the way she’d tucked her shoulders in slightly and dropped her lashes wasn’t mean-spirited. It was protective. Even her hand moved from the table to over her lap. She wasn’t lying. Of that, he was sure. Her eyes told him that whatever she was hiding, it wasn’t a lie.
Something she wanted to keep hidden, eh? Interesting.
“What happened with school?”
He leaned back in his chair, watching her carefully. “My aunt taught me at home, got me to a place where she thought I would be, at least, even with my peers and registered me in school again. Turns out, I was way ahead of my peers and jumped two grades. From that point on, the other students couldn’t keep up with me. So I needed special tutors, but the other way around. Eventually, not even my teachers could keep up with me. I went to university at age sixteen and made my first million by the time I was eighteen.”
Her eyes widened with his explanation, impressed. He relaxed, sipping the sparkling wine and enjoying seeing her eyes sparkle with such interest. He’d rather have her soft hands, but…she wasn’t ready for that.
“How in the world were you able to graduate in three years?”
“Two and a half, actually. Most students take twelve or fifteen credits per semester. I was able to take eighteen credits, plus I’d read the textbooks from some of the other classes and went to the professors, asking them if I could just go ahead and take the final exam. Some allowed it after discussing the information with me and I got credit for those classes too. Also, I took classes all year round. So when most students worked during the summer months, I was in class.” He finished his champagne and refreshed both glasses. “Any student could finish in three years if they stayed during the summer months. It’s pretty easy to get twelve additional credits during the summer. But most need to earn money or get a job. I didn’t need to since I was granted a full scholarship.”
“So, are you some sort of math genius?”
He laughed softly, shaking his head. “Not even close. There were some math classes that I didn’t take, but mostly because they didn’t interest me. I prefer the business math classes. Understanding economics and business strategy is more my style.”
She leaned back as well, unconsciously mirroring his body language. “What’s next on your bucket list?”
He shrugged. “Marriage was never on my list until two months ago,” he told her.
He recognized the surprise in her eyes. “You never wanted to get married?
”
“It isn’t that I didn’t want to marry,” he clarified. “It’s more that it just hadn’t occurred to me. My relationships had always been more…temporary.”
He watched as she bit her lip, obviously thinking about something. His comment bothered her, but he wasn’t sure why. “Have you had enough to eat?”
Lana looked down at her plate. She’d only eaten half of the delicious meal, but there was no way she could eat another bite. His comment about never thinking about marriage bothered her, but she wasn’t exactly sure why.
“I’m fine,” she answered finally.
“Let’s walk then.” He stood up and offered his hand, waiting for her to take it.
Lana knew exactly what was going to happen next. “Is this where we start experimenting, getting to know each other’s likes and dislikes?”
He reached down and took her hand, gently pulling her out of the chair. “We never stopped,” he admitted when she was in his arms.
Lana gasped, surprised all over again by the hardness of his body. She’d been watching him throughout dinner, had kissed him before dinner, and knew what he felt like in her arms. So why was this so shocking? She should be getting used to it by now.
“Ah. Well, then…”
“Let’s walk by the water. You can tell me more about how you work with colors.”
Lana didn’t want to tell him about colors, how she used them, manipulated them, and conveyed emotions with them. Especially after his comment about marriage and all of his past relationships, she didn’t want him to know anything about her art.
In a flash, she made a decision. She’d have an affair. An affair with her husband. She’d married him to save thousands of jobs. But she wouldn’t fall in love with him. That wouldn’t be fair to her heart. So she’d fall in lust with him.
Lust was easier. Lust was safer.
Besides, she wasn’t opposed to sex. She just hadn’t ever found a man that tempted her to go beyond mild kissing. And she was too much of a romantic to settle for something less than wonderful.
But she’d found wonderful with Christoph. The way he touched her, the way he kissed her….just a look from him sent her mind spiraling into heated thoughts that sent shivers down her spine.
That was a good thing. A marvelous thing! How many women craved a little bit of “wonderful” with the man in their lives? Too many, she knew. She, Tamara, and Willow had dreamed about finding a man that set their bodies on fire. Well, Tamara did. Willow didn’t really believe in marriage, having seen her father marry, and eventually divorce, five or six women. Tamara just…okay, so she just didn’t want to be married to Sheik Jurad, but…thinking back to this morning, she wondered if there was more to Tamara’s animosity than just an arranged marriage.
Not an issue to ponder now, she told herself as she slipped her sandals off and waded into the soft sand.
Looking up at Christoph, she decided that this was her moment. She wouldn’t fall in love. She would be sensible about this. Pragmatic and careful. Many women in their world had marriages of convenience, although it wasn’t the norm anymore. People married for reasons other than love – which was exactly what she’d done. She’d married for business reasons, an age-old tradition.
She had her art and she had her friends. Maybe, if everything turned out magically, if she couldn’t have love, she could even have children.
It was a fair trade, she told herself.
And if she was careful and didn’t fall in love, Lana wouldn’t be hurt when Christoph eventually moved on to other women. She’d ask that he be discreet, she decided with a pang.
Lana ignored the stabbing pain in her chest at the idea of Christoph with another woman.
No point in harboring unrealistic expectations, she told herself firmly. This was a business relationship – with benefits. Yes, a friends-with-benefits-marriage. Sounded good! And very modern!
Christoph stopped and turned so that he was facing her, his hands resting on her waist. “You’re deep in thought, Lana. What’s on your mind?”
She laughed and put a hand on his chest, only the second time she’d touched him on her own. It was growing easier and it felt empowering to touch him like this. Her fingers moved across his chest, exploring his skin through the linen shirt.
“I don’t want to wait,” she told him boldly.
“What do you mean?”
“You suggested that we experiment, go back to high school days.” She smiled slightly. “Interesting, since you didn’t have a normal high school experience.”
For a brief moment, she felt his fingers tighten on her waist and saw the heat intensify in his eyes. But a moment later, he visibly forced his muscles to relax and he shook his head. “We are going to take it slowly, Lana.”
She smiled up at him, her sense of power increasing. “Are we?” she asked softly. Then she lifted herself up onto her toes and kissed his chin. “Why?”
She heard a low, rumbling sound, even felt it under her hand.
“We are,” and he lowered his head to kiss her. “Very slowly,” he promised as his lips moved back and forth over her own. “I’m going to find out all of the places on your body where you like to be touched.”
Her smile widened while one of her hands moved to his wrist. “I like being touched here,” she said and moved his hand higher on her waist. She wanted him to touch her breast, but she wasn’t that brave. Not yet.
His hand slid around, pulling her closer against him as he deepened the kiss. She wanted to tell him other places that she liked to be touched, but his lips were magic, making her thoughts completely disappear.
“What about here?” he asked, his hand sliding lower.
She should protest but…why? It felt good to have his hand on her bottom.
For a long time, he kissed her, his lips sliding against hers, his tongue dancing with hers as his hands explored, teasing her with moments of shock, quickly followed by pleasure more intense than she’d ever known.
Suddenly, she was lifted off her feet but he didn’t stop kissing her. On and on, his mouth devoured hers, making her feel as if she were floating on a cloud. A beautiful, hard cloud. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist, gasping when he sat down on one of the beach chairs inside the cabana. He leaned back, taking her with him but she pulled away, shocked to find herself straddling his hips.
“Nothing is going to happen, Lana. I promise,” he assured her as his hands moved to her waist, sliding under the hem of her sundress. It shimmered along her legs as his hands moved higher.
She trembled slightly, but looked at him with a firm, resolute glare. “I’ve already told you that I want more to happen, Christoph.”
He groaned, but his hands settled on her waist under her dress, his fingers caressing her stomach.
“But I told you that we’re taking things slowly. I want you completely comfortable when we finally make love.” He jackknifed up, pulling her against him and, in this position, her core shifted against his erection, making her head spin slightly as new bolts of sensation shot through her.
“We’re going slowly now,” she argued when she could breathe again.
Still, she tried to shift her hips away from his, embarrassed by how much she wanted to grind against him again. And again!
“You like that, huh?” he asked, holding her hips still as he shifted again her, making more of those bolts of lightning desire.
“Yes!” she breathed, overwhelmed by pleasure because this…whatever he was doing…felt incredible! ,
“And this?” he asked, shifting slightly to the right.
Another zing shot through her. “Yes!” Her head rolled backwards.
He continued to kiss his way along her throat, moving along the sensitive skin, scraping his teeth slightly in various places and she loved it! She loved every moment of it! Then his hands moved away, surprising her. “What?” she gasped.
“I just wanted to go about this from a different angle,” he assured her huskily, k
issing her again until she leaned into him. She felt the straps of her sundress slide down her arms. She pulled away, startled but wanting this. That was before she saw Christoph’s eyes. They were focused at the edge of her dress as it slowly slid down her breasts. It was as if he were slowly unwrapping a present, one that he’d been waiting for. With every inch of skin revealed, she felt her heart pound harder. Surely he could hear it, couldn’t he?
She hoped not. Because she didn’t want him to know just how excited she was. Or how terrified! These sensations, these feelings were odd in different ways, but wonderful and exciting and a whole host of feelings she couldn’t easily define. Overall, she felt…glorious!
Then the edge of her dress fell lower and she felt the sigh as her strapless bra was revealed. Their eyes clashed and she suspected that he’d been hoping she was braless. Thinking that, seeing the look in his eyes, she vowed that she’d leave her bra in the drawer tomorrow night.
With a flick of his wrist, her bra was gone and Lana held her breath as he looked at her. He didn’t touch her in any way, just looked. Her nipples ached for him, but he just stared. When he finally looked up at her, his eyes were heated with the same fire burning within her.
“You’re beautiful, Lana.”
That glorious feeling expanded, like her veins had been filled with champagne.
“Thank you,” she whispered, unsure what to do next.
“That’s probably enough for…”
She stiffened when he started to pull her dress back up. “What are you doing?” she gasped, putting a hand to his wrist to stop him.
“We need to slow down, Lana.”
She thought about that for a moment. She felt the hardness against her core and wanted to explore that further. With her hips, with her hands, with her mouth. She wanted all of him.
“I don’t think so,” she announced. Without hesitation, she grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head, dumping it on the ground next to them.
“Lana!” he groaned, but his eyes were glued to her breasts and she saw his nostrils flare. He was trying to control himself, but he was losing the battle.
Her Enemy, Her Lover (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 1) Page 12