Seduction and the CEO

by Barbara Dunlop

  “I understand the desire,” Jared allowed. “But ever since she was old enough to understand, she’s pestered the three of us to get married. Poor Gramps. And poor Royce. He was afraid to bring a date home in high school for fear of how Stephanie would embarrass him. She goes into matchmaking mode at the drop of a hat.”

  “You could get married, you know,” Melissa offered reasonably, only half joking. “You’re what, early thirties?” “Thirty-five.”

  “So what’s the holdup? I bet you meet eligible women every day of the week.”

  Jared frowned at her. “I’m not getting married for the sake of my sister.”

  “Get married for yourself. Hey, if you get proactive, you’ll have your choice of women. If Stephanie gets her way, you’re stuck with me.”

  It obviously took Jared a stunned minute to realize Melissa was joking. But then he visibly relaxed.

  “What about you?” he asked. “Would you get married to keep your siblings happy?”

  Melissa coughed out a laugh. “I have five older brothers. Trust me, no husband in the world will be good enough.”

  “Would they scare a guy off?”

  Melissa smiled at that. “They range from six-one to six-four. All tough as nails. Adam’s a roofer, Ben and Caleb are framers, Dan’s an electrician and Eddy’s a pipe fitter.”

  A calculating look came into Jared’s eyes. “You think they’d be interested in jobs with Ryder International?”

  “I’m afraid they’re all gainfully employed.”

  His eyes squinted down as he stared at her, and she braced herself for sarcasm about her own dismal career status. It was going to be hard not to defend herself from his criticism.

  “Might be worth marrying you for the union connections alone.”

  The words surprised a laugh out of her. She played along. “Plus, Stephanie would have a mother.” She played along. “Well, more like a sister, really. I’m only four or five years older than she is, you know.”

  “Not a bad plan.” Jared nodded and pretended to give it serious consideration. “Stephanie’s pretty convinced the family would benefit from a few more females in the mix.”

  “Smart girl,” said Melissa.

  “Can’t argue with the logic,” Jared agreed. “It’s her methods that cause the trouble.”

  As they spoke, Stephanie sailed over her final jump, completing a clean round.

  “She really is good,” said Melissa.

  “You don’t know the half of it.” Jared turned from the window.

  He paused, and they came face-to-face, closer than she’d realized. Sunlight streamed in, highlighting his gorgeous eyes, his strong chin, his straight nose and the short shock of brown hair that curled across his forehead.

  The force of his raw magnetism drew her in, arousing and frightening her at the same time. He was all man. He had power, looks and intelligence, and she suddenly felt inadequate. She wasn’t ready to work at his ranch or write an article about him. The phrase out of my league planted itself firmly in her brain.

  For a second she let herself fear his reaction to the article. But then she banished the fear. It was her job to get the story, and she’d be far away from Montana by the time it ran in the Bizz.

  The world outside darkened, and his eyes turned to midnight, sensuality radiating from their depths. The humidity jumped up, only to be overtaken by a freshening breeze.

  There were shouts from outside as the wind swirled and a storm threatened. Doors banged, horses whinnied, and plastic tarps rattled against their ropes.

  Meanwhile, gazes locked, Jared and Melissa didn’t move.

  The wild clamor outside matched the cacophony inside her head. This attraction felt so right, but it was so incredibly wrong. Jared was her article subject, her employer, one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in Chicago. She had absolutely no business being attracted to him.

  He reached out to brush a stray lock of hair from her temple. His touch was electric, arousing, light as a feather but shocking as a lightning bolt.

  Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the first fat raindrops clattered on the roof.

  “I’m going to kiss you,” he told her.

  She drew a breath. “You think that’s a good idea?”

  He moved slightly closer. “It’s not the smartest thing I’ve ever done.” He stroked his thumb along her jaw, tipped her chin. “But probably not the stupidest, either. Might not even make the top three.”

  “What were they?” she asked.

  “The stupidest things?”

  She gave a slight nod.

  “I don’t think I’ll be telling you that right now.”

  “Maybe later?”

  “I doubt it.” Done talking, he leaned in and pressed his warm lips to hers.

  It was a gentle kiss, a tentative kiss. There was a wealth of respect and more than a couple of questions contained in the kiss.

  She answered by softening her lips. One of her hands went to his shoulder, steadying herself, she lied. Truth was, she wanted to hang on, press closer, turn his inquiry into a genuine kiss.

  He easily complied, stepping forward, parting his lips, one hand going to the small of her back, the other tunneling into the hair behind her ear. He tipped his head, deepened the kiss; she plastered herself flush against him, feeling the hard heat of his body, counterpoint to the wind and rain that rushed in through the open window.

  Warning sirens clanged inside her head.

  It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

  She was supposed to maintain a journalistic detachment. Plus, hadn’t she come up here to warn him about Stephanie? Not to flirt. Or worse, seduce. What on earth was she thinking?

  He broke the kiss, but moved instantly into another. Melissa didn’t have time to decide if she was relieved or upset before she was dragged away on another tidal wave of desire.

  The world disappeared—the horses, the people, the wind and rain. Nothing existed except Jared’s kiss, the rough texture of his hands, the heat of his hard body and the fresh, earthy, male scent that surrounded her and drew her into an alternative universe.

  His thumb found the strip of skin between her tank top and blue jeans. He stroked up her spine, sending shivers of reaction skittering both ways. His hand slipped under her shirt, warm palm caressing the sensitized skin, working higher, closing in on the scrap of her bra.

  His tongue touched hers, tentatively at first, but then bolder as she responded, opening to him, tipping her head to give him better access to her mouth. His hand caressed the back of her head. Her arms tightened around his neck. She went up on her toes, struggling to get closer.

  A clap of thunder boomed through the sky, rumbling the building, lightning dancing in the clouds rapidly engulfed the ranch. The rain grew steady, blurring the world, cooling the air and clattering like a freight train against the cedar shakes above them.

  Jared pulled her tighter still, leaving her in no doubt about the effect the kiss was having on him. It was having the same effect on her. It was wild, untamed, sexy and all but unstoppable.

  He shifted, moving her away from the open window and the driving rain that was dampening their clothes. He backed her into the wall, and his leg slipped between hers. The friction sent a shot of desire through her body, and a moan found its way past her mouth.

  Jared whispered her name, his kisses moving from her mouth to her cheek, her temple and neck. He moved aside the strap of her tank top, the thinner strap of her bra, kissing his way to her shoulder, where his warm tongue lingered, laving the sensitive skin.

  Her legs grew weak, and she braced herself against the wall, clinging to Jared’s strong shoulders, even as she kissed his chest through the damp cotton of his shirt. He’d crooked his knee, and she rested the core of her body against his strong thigh. A pulse throbbed through her veins, and there was no mistaking where she wanted this to lead.

  “We have to stop,” she forced herself to gasp.

  His lips paused mid-kiss on
her bare shoulder. “I’m not sure why,” he breathed. He straightened, bracing his hands against the wall, arms on either side of her, gazing down with passion-clouded eyes.

  “Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

  She was all but shaking with reaction, afraid to move for fear she’d throw caution to the wind and lose herself in his arms. “This is nuts,” she told him, struggling to bring her voice back to normal, forcing herself to drag her hands from his shoulders.

  His thigh was still braced between hers, still pressed intimately against her body, still drawing a completely inappropriate reaction from her.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” she nearly wailed. What had happened? Why had they combusted like that? They barely knew each other.

  “I mean, why is it nuts?”

  “Because…” She struggled over the question, not finding a satisfactory answer. At least, not one that she could share with him. “It’s you, and it’s me. And we’re…” She couldn’t find the words.

  “Attracted to each other?” he finished for her.

  “Apparently,” she responded dryly.

  He let his thigh fall away, and she nearly groaned with the sensation.

  “Stephanie would be pleased,” he pointed out.

  Melissa’s gaze darted to the window, suddenly wondering who had seen what before they moved away. What if Stephanie had seen them?

  “Nobody saw a thing,” said Jared, guessing her concern. “They were too busy running from the storm.”

  The rain had turned to a steady drum, while thunder and lightning punctuated the darkened sky. The yard was empty, everyone having taken shelter in one of the buildings. Horses were huddled in small groups, most of them under run-in shelters, some in the larger pens moving into the shelter of the trees. Tarps still billowed, cracking and snapping in the wind.

  Jared gently stroked his thumb across her swollen bottom lip, making her desire flare all over again. “Our secret is safe.”

  She gazed into his eyes, unable to hide her renewed longing. And try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to walk away.

  His eyes darkened further and his voice went husky. “You want to make it an even bigger secret?”

  Six

  B efore Melissa could even open her mouth, Jared knew to retract the question.

  “I’m sorry,” he quickly told her. “That was way out of line.”

  He was her boss. Just yesterday he’d threatened to fire her, more than once, if memory served. He had absolutely no business propositioning her. It was unprincipled, immoral, probably illegal in most states. “It wasn’t—”

  “It was.” He forced himself back, hands tightening by his sides as he put some distance between them. The torrential rain was still dripping through the open windows, and he slammed one window shut, then the next and finally the third, taking some of his frustration out on the inanimate objects. He’d never felt this way before, never desired a woman so quickly and thoroughly. Yet he was wrong to feel this way, and he had to make it stop.

  “Jared?” Her voice was tentative, and he felt like a complete jerk.

  He latched the final window, then turned back to face her. Her hair was wet, messy from his hands. The damp blue tank top clung to her breasts, highlighting her nipples. Her eyes were round, sea-foam green and confused.

  “I’m mad at myself,” he assured her. “Not at you.”

  She took a step forward. “It was my fault, too. How about we forget it happened?” “Can you forget it happened?” He’d give it a shot, but he wasn’t holding out much hope.

  “Sure.” She nodded, offering a small smile. “Easy.”

  She seemed sincere, and he tried not to be offended. Maybe he’d imagined their explosive passion. Maybe to her it had been a simple ordinary kiss. He gave himself a split second to ponder exactly who the hell else she’d been kissing like that, but then he acknowledged that it was none of his business.

  He took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. “Sure,” he forced out, adjusting his damp shirt and raking his fingers through his hair. “We’ll just forget it ever happened.”

  Melissa glanced down and plucked at her own wet shirt. Then she quickly folded her arms across her breasts. Just as well, Jared told himself. Her clinging clothes were turning him on. So were her swollen lips and messy hair.

  “You have a comb?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “It’s in my bag downstairs.”

  He realized they couldn’t risk leaving the room with her looking like this, so he steeled himself against the inevitable reaction and moved toward her.

  Her arms stayed protectively crossed over her breasts, so he reached for the hair clip. “I’ll just…” He raked spread fingers through the mess, straightening out the worst of it, wondering how he’d ever manage to get the clip back in.

  A voice called from the hallway. “Jared?” The door burst open, and Stephanie instantly appeared.

  He and Melissa both jumped guiltily back, her covering her breasts, him holding her hair clip.

  Stephanie stopped abruptly. “I’m sorry.” But she didn’t look sorry in the least. A broad grin grew on her face and her eyes sparkled in delight.

  Barry Salmon and Hal Norris halted behind her. All three of them stared at the incriminating scene.

  Jared inwardly groaned. Why the hell hadn’t he kept his hands to himself? Melissa’s reputation was about to tumble over the falls and be washed down the Windy River. Why the hell hadn’t he kept his hands to himself?

  She was the first to speak. “It’s not what you—”

  But he cut her off. “I was inviting Melissa to join us for dinner,” he told Stephanie, giving the two cowboys a warning glare.

  “I knew it!” Stephanie beamed.

  “The rain blew right in the windows,” he went on, to explain their appearance. Then he handed Melissa the hair clip. “Thanks for your help.”

  She gave him a puzzled expression. “There’s no need—”

  He stopped her with a stare. There was every need to protect her reputation, not to mention his own. She’d be gone in a week. In the meantime, he’d rather have the ranch staff think they were dating than carrying on a clandestine affair in the stable office.

  He turned to his sister. “Did you need me for something?”

  “Royce just called,” said Stephanie. “He’s at the airport.”

  “A day early?” That surprised Jared. He hoped nothing was wrong.

  “And McQuestin called,” Hal put in. “Some of the herd’s still in the south canyon, and there’s a risk of flooding down there.”

  “Hal and Barry are going to take half a dozen men,” said Stephanie, but her goofy gaze was still on Melissa.

  Jared knew he’d have to deal with his sister’s letdown later. But at the moment, seeing the pure joy on Stephanie’s face, he was inclined to wait until they got through the graveside visit on Sunday. He wondered if Melissa would be willing to go along with the charade. It would definitely distract Stephanie from missing their grandfather.

  “Do you need me?” Jared asked Hal. He hadn’t played cowboy in a few years, but he was ready and able if they needed an extra hand.

  Hal shook his graying head. “Should be done by dark.”

  Jared gave the man a nod of acknowledgment. Then he looked at Stephanie. “I’ll be right down.”

  She all but winked in return as she pulled the door shut.

  “What are you thinking?” Melissa demanded as the footsteps receded down the hall.

  “That you cared about your reputation.” He stated the obvious.

  “This isn’t 1950.”

  “It’s also not Vegas. It’s Montana.”

  “People don’t kiss in Montana?”

  “They didn’t know we were just kissing.”

  “But…” Melissa took a step back.

  “Your lips,” he told her softly. “Your hair, your clothes. You look like you just tumbled out of a haystack.”<
br />
  “But we didn’t do anything.”

  “We thought about it,” he told her gruffly. “And it shows.”

  Her glance went down to her chest. “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Oh.”

  Melissa swiftly pulled her hair to the base of her neck and fastened it with the clip. “What about Stephanie? You know what she’s going to think.”

  Jared nodded. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

  Melissa raised her brows.

  “Would you mind playing along for a few days? Have dinner with us, pretend you like me, just enough to make Stephanie think there’s a possibility we’ll fall for each other.”

  Melissa seemed genuinely astonished. “Why? Why would you do that to your own sister?”

  “You saw how excited she was,” Jared pointed out.

  “Yes. And I know how disappointed she’s going to be when she finds out the truth. Not to mention how ticked off she’s going to be at you.”

  “Who says she has to find out?”

  “I’m leaving in a few days.”

  “That’s perfect,” he said. “It’ll get us through Sunday. Then we’ll act like it didn’t work out. She’ll be disappointed, sure. But she’ll also be past the hard part of commemorating our parents’ deaths and remembering how much she misses her grandfather.”

  “I don’t think you can postpone grieving.”

  “Sure, you can.” You could postpone it. You could ignore it. And you could replace it. With, for example, anger.

  Melissa shook her head. “I’m not comfortable with this.”

  Then, he’d simply have to make her comfortable with it. “How much are we paying you?”

  “Minimum wage, why?”

  “I’ll double it.”

  “You want me to ignore my principles and fake being your girlfriend for two times minimum wage?” “Triple.”

  “Jared.”

  “Name your price.”

  “It’s not about money. It’s about integrity.” For some reason her voice trailed away on the final word. Her gaze focused on the window as she watched the rain streak down the pane of glass. “Do you really think it’s best for her?”

  “I do.” He moved up behind her. He couldn’t help but admire Melissa’s decision-making process. “Do you think you could pretend to like me?”