by J. K. Coi
Yes, they’d been friends, and the good-natured competitiveness between them had always been grounded in respect and an admiration for one another’s intelligence and abilities.
Ben had been a good friend…a great friend…her best friend…right up until the moment he’d suggested they go into business together, and then, just to make matters even worse…he’d kissed her.
No matter how hard she’d tried to get them back to their friendship place, it hadn’t been the same after that. And when he left for New York a month later—alone—it had almost been a relief, because she knew she’d never be able to banish the other feelings he’d forced her to acknowledge, the ones that stripped her raw and left her vulnerable.
How could he do that? How could he just ruin everything? Shock and denial had left her shaken, angry, and scared for a long time, but she’d refused to admit she might be angry with herself, too. Because part of her had seen it coming, part of her had wanted it so badly…but she never would have risked it.
She dared a glance back at him. The sight of all that sculpted male flesh and those strong, capable hands sent shivers racing through her even now. Her mouth went dry, and her nipples tightened.
“Eight o’clock in the bar?” he said expectantly. He appeared calm, relaxed, and criminally good looking.
She shouldn’t. Corporate secrets were stolen every day in her industry. She needed to protect herself, especially from him. She remembered well how competitive Ben could be, and they no longer had friendship between them to protect her from his ruthless business practices.
“All right. I’ll have a drink with you.”
His smile was radiant as he stood, his big body casting a shadow again. “Good. I’ll see you tonight at the bar then?”
She nodded slowly, transfixed by the sight of those flexing arms and rippling abs as he pulled his T-shirt over his head and tugged it down, covering everything—and yet not covering enough, because the shirt molded to him like a second skin.
Good God. Are you seriously thinking what I think you’re thinking? He’s going to eat you up and spit you out.
Watching him walk away, she clenched her jaw and imagined exactly how the “eating up” part might play out.
Chapter Three
What happens in Antigua…
Liz shook her head at the reckless thought. Back in her room out of the hot sun, her common sense had started to return in a rush.
She might be here on business, but the temptation to use her trip to the beautiful tropical island to indulge in a rare opportunity for some hot and sexy fun in the sun had occurred to her even before running into Harrison at the pool. It was why she’d arrived a couple of days before the convention was scheduled to start.
Not that she would really do anything with a stranger. That would be rash and reckless, and Liz was anything but. She was always the responsible one, the one who made plans, who avoided confrontation. In fact, starting her own business was the most reckless thing she’d ever done, and making that decision had given her ulcers.
No, she’d never have a fling with a stranger.
But Ben Harrison wasn’t exactly a stranger, now was he? With him? That’s just asking for trouble.
She took a deep breath and gave herself a disapproving look in the bathroom mirror. “That’s why it’s just a drink, nothing else.”
Her brain was telling her not to be such an idiot as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Then again, lower, where it counted, she felt a rush of warmth, and anticipation surged through her bloodstream.
“Just one drink,” she reminded herself again sternly.
She peeled the towel from her wet hair and gently rubbed the ends. The terrycloth felt stiff and a bit scratchy, like it had been washed in too much bleach. “One drink because we used to be friends. One drink to prove I’m a professional, and that he can’t intimidate me.”
She nodded firmly.
Her cell phone rang, buzzing along across the countertop beside her makeup case. She dropped the towel and checked the number, then cradled the phone to her ear. “Hi, Daniel. Are you feeling better?” Her brother didn’t travel well, and there’d been turbulence on the flight. After settling into their rooms, Daniel had wanted to rest.
“Liz, I just heard Benjamin Harrison is going to be here.”
“Yes, I know. I saw him a little while ago.”
“You talked to him?”
“Yes, listen. This is a big industry event. It was always within the realm of possibility that he would want to make an appearance,” she said. “But it’ll be fine.”
“How can it be fine? In business for only a year and he’s already left a trail of broken and bleeding start-ups lying in his wake. The man has a knack for partnering up with specialists who have intellectual property or a skill set that he wants, sucking them dry, and then leaving them in the dust without a second thought.” Her brother’s voice was getting higher and more agitated by the moment. “I heard that he and his partner are trolling for investors now. And you know they’ll be hitting up Diego Vargas.” Diego Vargas was known to be a down-to-earth professional who ran his company with integrity and intelligence.
“That doesn’t automatically mean that they’re going to win and we’re going to lose.”
“Have you met the guy Harrison is working with? We’re so screwed. Apparently, Steve Nolan has got connections with everyone.”
“That’s no guarantee of anything.” Her head ached. She’d spent years trying to help her brother overcome the damage done to his self-esteem by their childhood, but it remained an ongoing battle, and sometimes she got so tired of always being the strong, steady one in the family.
“But—”
“We’ve worked hard, and our program is flawless,” she reminded him sternly. “This is our chance to show people what we have to offer. Once they see it, we won’t have any trouble getting Vargas interested, and it won’t matter what Ben Harrison and his partner have up their sleeves.”
Daniel seemed overly concerned about this development, but the truth was he might be right to worry. Diego Vargas was the president of Jemarcho Inc., a company with deep pockets and huge marketing needs. Her company’s AI software, which she’d designed to strategically analyze online search results and other criteria in order to independently adapt specific marketing tools and initiate more effective campaigns, would be perfect for Jemarcho. But since Sharkston Co. was still getting its feet wet, it would take a lot to wow him. If Harrison got there first…
“So, what did he say to you?”
“He didn’t say anything. He barely even recognized me.” That was mostly true. Granted, on top of her weight loss and new hair, she’d also been wearing dark glasses at the time, and the ghostlike quality of her near nakedness had probably blinded him for a minute. Now she wished she’d gone to that tanning salon to get a “base coat” like Sarah had suggested.
Liz wondered what her friend and office manager would have said about Ben inviting her to have drinks tonight. That was a no-brainer. Sarah was ten times bolder than Liz. She would have said, Go for it.
Liz looked in the bathroom mirror as heat flooded her cheeks.
“So what are we going to do?” Daniel asked. He obviously wasn’t going to calm down easily.
“We’re not doing anything.”
“Are you serious? Liz, we have to—”
“No, listen to me. I agree he would probably love it if just his presence distracted us, but we can’t let him get under our skin. We have a plan, and we’re going to stick to it. Let’s not do anything reckless. Let’s not make things easier for him by being off our game. All right?”
“I’m sorry. I guess you’re right. I just don’t want anything to jeopardize our chances with Vargas.”
“Jemarcho Inc. isn’t our only option,” she reminded him. He’d been so focused on making this deal lately, he reminded her of their father. No wonder she had ulcers.
“But it’s the best. You said it yourself.�
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True, but they couldn’t put all their eggs in one basket. Trying to explain that to Daniel, though, was like trying to teach logic to an inch worm. He was so focused on the money they needed, she sometimes felt that was all he cared about, that the company itself was just another poker table for him to play at.
He grew quiet on the other end of the line. Her frustration with him turned to guilt. He had a gift for sending her on an emotional rollercoaster, but she knew he didn’t do it on purpose. He’d been in a constant struggle with a gambling addiction since his late teens, and it had been an uphill battle to keep it under control. More than once she’d had to bail him out of trouble, and he’d fallen off the wagon again about fourteen months ago. It had ruined his relationship with his last girlfriend when she found out that all the money they’d been saving to buy a house was gone, sending him into an emotional tailspin darker than anything she’d seen from him before.
Liz had been forced to cash in every cent she’d been saving up for Sharkston Co. to cover his debt and help him get into another recovery program, but this time it had been different. Since the program, he’d been withdrawn, defensive, and he refused to talk to her about anything besides work—and even when it came to that, she’d been hard-pressed to get his input.
“Hey,” she said. “Everything’s going to be fine. We’re going to be fine.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I know.” He sighed.
She rubbed her temple. She always got a headache dealing with her baby brother. It was amazing how trouble zeroed in on him like a heat-seeking missile…and that the fallout of the resulting explosion always ended up in her lap. That was no doubt a product of having two parents so focused on their careers that their children had always come a close second—sometimes third or fourth—in priority. Even when her parents had been alive, Liz was the one who ended up taking care of herself and her brother, because their parents were always working, or arguing about who was going to have to waste their valuable time doing things like feeding the children or taking them to the doctor.
Frowning into the mirror at the sight of her rapidly drying hair starting to frizz up into a halo around her head, she shook off the bitterness of the past and focused on the future. The somewhat pressing, immediate future.
“Listen, I—I have some plans tonight, so why don’t I call you in the morning after breakfast? I’m going to see if they plan to set up an early registration table for the convention.”
“You’re going out?” He sounded surprised and a little wounded, making Liz wince. Usually she was the one waiting at home with a light on while her brother went out on the town. But surprisingly, she hadn’t changed her mind about going out to meet Ben. “I thought we could read over those portfolios once more,” he said. “Order in room service and—”
“It’s a good idea, but there’s nothing there we haven’t already gone over a hundred times. We’re ready, Daniel. Everything is in order.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? You never think we’re ready. You always want to triple check everything right up to the last second.” He paused. “Are you meeting someone?”
She cleared her throat. “Ah…I’m having a drink with Ben.”
“What? You’re not serious?” His incredulity came right through her cell phone. “After everything we just talked about?”
“We might be business rivals, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be civil.” Was she trying to convince Daniel…or herself? “Don’t worry, I can handle this. I can handle Ben Harrison.”
Glancing back up into the mirror, she tried not to see the lie in her own eyes.
Chapter Four
Ben stopped in the entrance of the busy, darkened bar. It was already eight fifteen. A last-minute call had him running late for his date with Beth. As a result, his hair was still damp from the shower, making the collar of his shirt wet too, so that it clung to his neck.
What if she took his lateness as an insult and had already left? Worse yet, what if she didn’t show up at all?
Does it really matter that much?
Yes. Not that he was willing to examine the reasons why.
He’d very consciously decided not to think about Elizabeth Carlson often during the last year, but now that he’d seen her again, he hadn’t been able to stop. The memories were too close, too sharp. Her image wouldn’t leave him. It was burned into his brain.
After years of friendship, things between them had fallen apart when he left Seattle, and he’d wondered what he would feel if he ever saw her again.
His gaze locked on the beauty by the bar. Now he knew.
She was all the way on the opposite side of the room, but he would have picked her out at three times the distance. In fact, he wasn’t likely to mistake that figure of hers ever again and couldn’t believe it had actually taken him a minute to recognize her earlier.
Out on the pool deck, his body had responded just like any guy’s would when confronted with a hot chick in a bikini. But that was nothing compared to the moment he’d recognized those sea green eyes and her name had popped out of his mouth. The physical response had become a hundred times more powerful. It had taken all of his control to sound calm and cool in the face of her radiant beauty.
She’d always been gorgeous and brilliant, but there had been a definite off-limits vibe coming from her while they’d been friends. He’d crossed the boundary once in desperation and it had changed everything between them.
Trying it again had a good chance of having the same effect—or worse—but he wasn’t sure that was going to stop him. He’d always had a pathological unwillingness to accept failure—not that he wanted to explore the roots of that—and he also liked the adrenaline rush he got from taking risks. He had no doubt that they’d be amazing in bed together, and if he could convince her of as much, maybe he’d finally get her out of his system.
A gentle spotlight glowed down on her. She looked absolutely stunning in a clingy, turquoise wrap thing that cascaded all the way to her ankles. It didn’t have any straps to go over her shoulders. Either there was some secret to the design, or she was relying on nothing but her own natural curves to hold it up. Curves shown to perfection by the contrast of her creamy skin against the bold color of her dress.
She’d pulled those thick, shiny red curls up into some kind of arty twist at the top of her head, leaving the nape of her neck bare. Long dangly jewelry hung from her ears and brushed her shoulders, sparkling silver under the lights.
Men flanked her, but she didn’t pay them any attention. She leaned over the bar and said something to the bartender, who smiled and dropped an elbow on the counter, leaning over it to respond.
Seeing her answering smile to whatever smooth line the bartender was giving her, Ben started making his way toward her.
The smile on her face froze when she looked up and saw him. She pulled her little purse tight to her belly, making him feel like a predator, with her as the sweet little thing he’d sink his teeth into. He didn’t know how he felt about that, but the smile stretching his lips definitely felt wolfish. He poured every ounce of charm he had into it. If he were smart, he would do his best to turn that anxiousness of hers into soft, biddable need, melt her defences, and sweetly pry all her corporate secrets from her.
He bit back the bitter taste of disgust. He wasn’t that guy anymore. As much as he would have stopped at nothing to break down a competitor not too long ago, that had changed. He had changed.
He re-pasted the smile on his face. He didn’t want to take Beth off guard or hammer away her defenses. He didn’t want to sucker her.
He knew exactly what he did want from her, though, and he was going to prove that she wanted it too.
…
She’d felt a sizzle in the air, glanced up, and had somehow known she would find him watching her.
He crossed the room, walking through the crowd as if no one stood between them. She was being pursued, hunted. And all the arguing she’d done with herself earlier starte
d up again in her head.
“Sorry I’m late, but I’m glad you waited for me.” He stopped in front of her and leaned in close, making her heart race.
His lips ghosted against the sensitive spot just beneath her jaw, and a shiver went down her spine. She had to press her lips together to keep from betraying herself with a gasp. When he straightened and took her hand, her breath hitched as he brought it to his mouth, even though he barely touched her.
“You were only a few minutes late.” She gently pulled her fingers back with a quiver of excitement.
The smile he bestowed on her would have stopped traffic. She didn’t think she could take too many of those without her defenses crumbling completely. Already, she felt shaky. In the face of this man’s steady confidence and daring demeanor, she was a mouse.
“Well, even so, thank you for waiting,” he said gently. “I would have felt horrible if you’d left, thinking I’d forgotten our date.”
Renewing her determination to prove he had no effect on her, she thrust her shoulders back and shrugged. “It’s not really a date.” She gave him her brightest smile. “And there were enough gentlemen offering to keep me company if you decided not to show. I don’t think I would have been alone for longer than…oh…a minute or so.”
“I have no doubt about that.” His gaze turned smoky and penetrating, like he saw all the way through her. This wasn’t the Ben Harrison she remembered.
The man she remembered was reckless and daring, overwhelmingly driven and confident—and she had no doubt he’d only compounded on those qualities since moving to New York—but there was a different side to him now too, one she’d only caught brief glimpses of when they’d been friends.
He radiated so much sex appeal and wicked promise tonight that Liz’s breathing thinned. She wondered for the hundredth time why she’d agreed to this. It was so unlike her to act against her instincts…and then she glanced at him as he turned away to order a drink, and the answer was obvious.
His dark hair was still damp from a shower, pushed back from his forehead. It was longer than she remembered, carrying a bit of a wave that made him look like a playboy.