by J. K. Coi
He spread his hands over her spine and traced every one of her devastating curves through the thin material of her dress. His hands slowly dragged up to her shoulders, the back of her neck. He plunged his fingers into her silky hair, destroying what was left of her casual up-do.
Ben thought maybe he knew why Beth was afraid, but it didn’t matter. A part of him might be disappointed she hadn’t considered their friendship strong enough to trust him, but he quashed it. All that was history, and he didn’t want to look back, only forward.
His grip on her upper arms tightened with the lies he told himself, but they were lies that had to become truth if he was going to stay in control. Beth could keep her personal demons if that’s what she wanted, because he had his own to bear. The only thing that mattered was this. Here, right now. The night air. The crashing waves. The feel of her thighs against his. Her softness and his strength. The smell of sunshine in her hair. The taste of berries from her lips.
She clutched at his waist as he deepened the kiss and gave her his tongue, daring her to suck it, to rub her tongue along his until they were both panting.
She made a small sound, a moan that arrowed straight to his gut, giving him second thoughts about starting something out here on the beach.
Maybe she sensed his hesitation. She put her hands between them and leaned back, taking deep breaths. Her mouth glistened; her eyes sparkled. So damn beautiful. Beth embodied every dream he’d ever had, come to life in his arms. But dreams had a way of screwing with a person, so he banished them now, just like he had the moment he’d left Seattle, alone.
They made their way back to the resort, but not before stopping in the garden path just out of reach of the lanterns marking the edge of civilization. There, he kissed her senseless again just for good measure before walking her to the elevator.
They weren’t lucky enough to get an empty elevator to the third floor, but he still couldn’t keep his hands off her. The short ride took forever. As they stood side by side behind another couple, he held her hand, but it wasn’t enough. His thumb made circles in the center of her palm. He reached up and wrapped one of her curls around his finger.
When they got off the elevator, she walked ahead. He felt like he was stalking her down the hall, eyes glued to the sway of her hips. The black dress slithered over her, and when she glanced over her shoulder with smiling invitation in her eyes, he couldn’t wait to get it off her.
There was a man waiting in front of her door. Fuck.
“Daniel,” said Beth. “What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”
The brother looked Ben up and down with a dark, suspicious scowl. It wasn’t hard to imagine exactly what he was thinking. That Ben was a shark out to screw his sister—in one way or another. He didn’t necessarily agree with the silent assassination of his character and of his intentions, but he could see where Daniel might not be entirely wrong to feel the way he did.
As they stopped in front of the door, Daniel subtly shifted so his back was to Ben, separating him from Beth. Ben saw through the move and put his shoulder to the wall with a small smile. He had no problem giving them some room, but he wasn’t ready to leave yet, and from the nasty sideways glare Daniel sent his way, Ben had made that abundantly clear.
Beth quickly glanced up, too. He was glad for the sparkle in her eyes, because it meant that she, at least, knew he wasn’t trying to screw with her.
“I wanted to talk to you about the meeting,” said Daniel. “I didn’t realize you had made another, uh…date with the competition.”
He took Beth’s arm and edged her farther away from Ben, leaning in to whisper, “Maybe we could talk alone.”
When Beth gave him an apologetic look, Ben only winked and crossed his arms, stubbornly settling in.
“Yeah, of course.” She turned back to her brother, but a grin twitched at her lips. “Just give me a minute. Why don’t you wait inside, and I’ll be right there?”
She opened up the door to her room. Daniel paused, tossing another glare Ben’s way, but he finally left them alone out in the hall.
“Do you think he’s glued to the peep hole?”
Beth giggled and pulled him down the hall until they were in front of his own door. “Cut him a break. He’s just watching out for me.”
“And your company.”
“And our company,” she agreed with a teasing smile. “After all, we have to be careful about cavorting with the enemy.”
He stepped closer. “Is that what we are?”
“What? Enemies?” Her gaze fixed on his mouth, and he watched as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. He’d been waiting for that all night.
He pulled her against him. “No…cavorting.”
Chapter Ten
The next morning, Liz was pulled from a deep sleep by the shrill ring of the telephone.
She didn’t excel at abrupt awakenings, and coordination wasn’t her strongest trait at the best of times. The handset went tumbling out of her grasp and across the top of the nightstand as she sluggishly reached for it.
“Wait, don’t hang up,” she called. When she finally had the phone securely in her hand she flopped back into her pillow. “Daniel, why are you torturing me so early? I told you last night that—”
“Not Daniel.” Ben’s deep chuckle on the other end of the line perked her up, and she pushed herself to a sitting position and dragged a hand through her hair.
“Oh, sorry. I thought it was my brother thinking he could manipulate me while I was still half asleep.”
“Does he often try to manipulate you?”
“He means well, but he’s a…worrier.” She groaned. “Why are you calling me so damn early, anyway?”
“Still not a morning person, I see.” He sounded way too cheerful. She might have to kill him.
“How do you know if I’m a morning person or not?”
“I was the one who brought you coffee every day to get you out the door to morning classes, remember? If not for me, you’d never have gotten up in time.”
“Says you,” she grouched. She remembered those days, and although he might be right about her not being a morning person in general, he was wrong about one thing: she’d always been awake and anxiously waiting for his knock at her door. “But it just so happens that I was planning to take it easy this morning and—”
“What if I tell you I have coffee?”
“I’m listening.” She pushed her hair out of her face and pulled her knees up to her chest beneath the blankets, trying not to think about how much better it would have been if he was here with her this morning, waking her up with kisses and the solid warmth of his body against hers. Unfortunately, Daniel had stayed longer than she expected, and when he left, she realized she wasn’t bold enough to go next door and resume what they’d started. The second thoughts had already started to kick in.
“Laura from the convention committee has set aside one of the resort’s small conference rooms for us. We’ll make our product pitches in there this morning, but we’ll also have access to it for the rest of the day to prepare for our seminar tomorrow. She’ll provide whatever resources we need as well. After the pitches, why don’t we meet in there for a while and get started?”
“Sure,” she said. “That will give me a chance to go over my seminar ideas with you.”
“Perfect, I’ve got a few ideas, too.”
“Great. See you later then.”
She hung up, only to pick up the phone again to call Daniel. When he didn’t answer she figured he was still asleep and left a message to let him know what the agenda was for the morning.
Today she had to get back to reality, and the reality was that she and Ben were competitors, and this was their arena. She couldn’t forget it, and she couldn’t let what might be happening between the two of them get in the way of it. Today her focus was the product pitches. Sharkston and Optimus Inc. were each holding open sessions to introduce themselves and their products to the convention attendees,
so that tomorrow when she and Ben gave their workshop, everyone would already have a good idea where they were coming from, business-wise.
The pitches were also an important part of the competition, because the same attendees would be voting for either Sharkston or Optimus Inc. based on what they thought of the pitches, what they got out of the workshop, and the overall impression she and Ben made on their industry colleagues this week.
Ben and Steve Nolan would step up to make their pitch directly after her, which gave them an advantage. That meant Sharkston had to completely rock their time slot so that it wouldn’t matter what Ben said afterward.
An hour later, she made her way downstairs to the registration desk with a fresh cup of coffee in hand. She looked for Daniel. He hadn’t answered his phone, so she assumed he’d already gotten up and out to register for the convention.
The room was crowded and noisy, and four lines jutted out in front of the two long folding tables that were butted up against each other. As people started coming away with their information packets, hanging badges around their necks, she was able to recognize company names, if not everyone’s individual names.
She greeted as many people as she could. What better way for them to remember her when it came time to vote than to stay front and center with a bright smile on her face?
With each introduction, she asked all of the attendees where they were from and what business they were in—unless she knew the answers already, in which case she made sure to ask something more pointed and insightful—then filed the information away in one of the many folders in her methodical mind where it would be easily accessed later. Only when she was asked in return, though, did she offer a brief description of her new company and what Sharkston planned to bring the industry.
She stuck out her hand and introduced herself to a VP from Magnatech named Elise whose head office was in her neck of the woods.
“You’re one of the featured attendees,” the woman said.
“Yes. My company specializes in advanced machine learning, AI programming, and analytics.” Liz gave her best confident smile. She was doing a great job working the room so far, if she did say so herself. “And, if you’ll forgive my boldness, I think we would be a perfect match for Magnatech’s security engineering and information assurance applications.”
“It definitely sounds like something Magnatech would be interested in negotiating.” She smiled.
“My partner and I are pitching today in the small conference room. I’d love it if you came by to check it out.”
“I’ll do that, thanks,” she said.
The hall rang out with the sound of laughter. It was coming from a large group near the entrance. She glanced over and realized that Ben was right in the middle of it, surrounded by men and women patting him on the back and shaking his hand. Her confidence wavered.
“Charismatic, isn’t he?” Elise said, nodding in their direction. Ben was already in conversation with someone new. He had a hand stuffed in his pants pocket under his suit jacket, looking like a harmless playboy, but she knew it was all an act. He was far from harmless. He was a shark, but that combination of brains and instinct was like an irresistible pheromone that few could resist.
Even me?
“He certainly is.” She smiled, knowing she looked cool and unconcerned, and no one could tell that sweat had started to bead between her breasts. She could resist the irresistible. She had to.
“He’s going to be tough competition for you.” Was Elise fishing for the inside scoop, curious to see if there was more than just a friendly business rivalry between them? Or was Liz projecting her own feelings and fears onto others?
She shook it off and grinned. “Oh, I think maybe it’s going to be the other way around.”
Elise smiled back at her. “That’s a great attitude to have. We should definitely talk some more. I’ll see you later at your pitch.”
“That sounds perfect.” Liz took the woman’s card. With a wave good-bye, she turned around and walked right into a man who’d been crossing behind her.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, brushing the lapel of his jacket. She’d managed to hold onto her coffee cup. Thankfully, it was almost empty, and she’d opted for the plastic lid, or else what was left of it would have landed all over his beautiful charcoal gray suit. “It’s crazy in here, but I should be more careful, especially with coffee in my hand.” She looked up into a pair of the deepest brown eyes she’d ever seen.
“So you’re Elizabeth Carlson.” His voice was low with a hint of appreciation, but his smile was light and friendly.
“I am.” She straightened her suit jacket and glanced down at the name badge hanging around her neck, but it had swung around so he couldn’t have seen it.
She readjusted the plastic sleeve and held out her free hand. “I’m sorry, how do we know each other?”
His big hand swallowed hers up in a firm grip. “Oh, we don’t. Not formally anyway, but I have to tell you…” He leaned in a little bit, voice dropping to a whisper. “You look fantastic in a red bikini.”
She gasped and tugged her hand away, frowning up at his still smiling face. “I don’t think…”
He chuckled. “My apologies, I shouldn’t have teased you.”
“Then why did you?”
He laughed. “I guess I already feel as if we know each other. I’m Stephen Nolan. You obviously didn’t notice me the other day at the pool.”
Ben Harrison’s right-hand man. The magazines featured Nolan even more often than his partner. While Ben might have been granted a kind of celebrity status by stepping out with Meredith Stone, apparently Nolan was a celebrity in his own right. He was some kind of financial genius who’d gotten into NYU on a football scholarship and ended up surprising everyone with the fact that he also had a brain.
There’d been a time when those good looks and brainpower had been nothing compared to the money and social influence of his family, but from what she’d read, the only thing left of the Nolan dynasty was probably a closet full of those perfectly cut suits.
As he stood before her, there was a stiffness in his shoulders that went all the way up to his eyes. It made his easy, flirty smile look like a mask that didn’t quite fit. Maybe it had at one time, but she got the impression this guy had been pretending to be a lot of things to a lot of people, and maybe nobody knew the deep down and dirty person who really lived in his skin.
Liz held out her hand again. “Let’s do that again without the reference to my bikini, okay?”
He laughed. “Of course, how unprofessional of me.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “I have a feeling you go out of your way to be unprofessional a lot of the time, don’t you?”
His expression was finally loosening up a little. His grin looked real, like he was actually having fun with her now instead of just pretending. “Well, now that you mention it…”
She shook her finger. “Just be sure it doesn’t bite you in the ass and get you in trouble one of these days.”
“Great advice, and I suppose I should hope it’s not already too late, shouldn’t I?” With a sideways grin, he reached out to shake her hand again. “So Ms. Carlson, let me re-introduce myself. I’m Stephen Nolan of Optimus Inc. It’s lovely to meet you in person. I’ve heard quite a bit about you in the last few days from my partner.”
She laughed. “It’s very…interesting to meet you as well, Mr. Nolan, but please don’t tell me what you’ve heard from Ben.”
“All good things,” he assured her. “Maybe a little intimidating, actually. In fact, faced with such indomitable competition, I think Harrison and I are going to have to step up our game.”
She somehow doubted that the two dynamic men who made up Optimus Inc. were going to have any trouble getting their fair share of the attention during this convention. Leaving aside issues of product superiority, their reputations alone were sure to guarantee success.
Ben and his partner had had their pictures in the magazines. Each
of them looked damn amazing in a suit, oozed confidence and charisma, and could charm the pants off a room full of conference attendees. She needed to charm these same people if she was going to win their vote at the end of this week and win Tyson Wallace’s endorsement.
It was intimidating, to say the least, but men had been trying to intimidate her since she’d written her first line of code back in high school—and done it quicker and better than the male students sitting beside her. This business was all about results, and she knew she could deliver. When it came down to doing some real business, Diego Vargas wasn’t going to be looking at who was more popular. He would want to invest in the company that had the best chance of making him money, and Sharkston Co. had every bit the same chance of being that company as Optimus Inc.
“Please call me Liz,” she said with a smile. “And in the spirit of healthy competition, let me wish you good luck as the convention gets underway.”
“Good luck to you, too.”
“Speaking of competition,” he said as she was turning to go. “I might be stepping out of line here—”
“And that’s different from two minutes ago because…?”
He chuckled and dipped his head in acknowledgement of her point. “Ben and I have a friend in common, Meredith Stone, who happens to be my roommate at the convention.”
“Your…?”
She blushed as it became clear what he was getting at, probably thinking Liz cared who Ben was or wasn’t seeing.
Okay, so maybe she did care.
Setting that aside, she was obviously naïve enough to hope that Ben wasn’t sleeping with Meredith Stone…but was she really supposed to believe that Nolan wasn’t sleeping with her either? That they were only roommates?
He must have seen her skepticism. “The three of us have a complicated relationship.”
“It’s fine. You don’t have to say anything. It’s really none of my business.” So it was like that? She waved her hand and took a step back.