by Lexi Blake
A single brow rose over his icy blue eyes. “Are you talking about the elderly woman who just won a brand-new house in Santa Clarita from 4L Software? We like to do these pop-up contests every now and then. Strictly to engender goodwill with the public. This one came up to promote our house-of-the-future software. It controls everything in the home from climate to security systems. All from your computer. We gave away one of those, too. I believe her name was Harper and her address did seem familiar.”
Gwendolyn Harper. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes. Gwen had been her first friend when she’d moved to LA. Gwen had been the one to hold her hand when she had to make Johnny’s funeral arrangements. She’d been on a fixed income since her husband had died fifteen years before, and things had gotten tighter after she took in her grandson. She loved Gwen. “Are you serious?”
He shrugged. “It was a contest. She entered on our website. She can’t actually remember entering, but I assured her it was real. She must struggle with her memory. I believe she’ll discover her grandson has also won a college scholarship from us.”
Manipulative, beautiful, arrogant prick. “Stand up.”
His eyes widened. “Why?”
She was trying so hard not to cry. She couldn’t help it. She was emotional. “Because this is the part where I hug you.”
“Oh. Okay.” He put his napkin down and stood, still frowning.
It didn’t matter. She hugged people who did good in the world. Even if they had ulterior motives. She practically threw herself in his arms. Everyone needed affection. Even Andrew Lawless. Maybe he needed it most of all.
He stood there for a moment and then his arms slowly wound around her. Tentative at first, and then she felt him sigh and his head rested against hers. “Does this mean you forgive me for maybe, possibly buying your apartment building and having it torn down so you can’t go back to it and be murdered?”
Sometimes the wrong things happened for the right reasons. “You’re paying for me to move back to LA.”
“Maybe you won’t want to,” he said quietly. “Maybe you’ll find you like it here. As much as you travel, it’s cheaper to fly out of Austin or Dallas. You spend a lot of time in New York. Much shorter trip.”
He was so logical. She gently pulled free because if she spent much more time in those muscular arms of his, she might melt. “Thank you for helping my friend.”
He nodded, the praise seeming to make him uncomfortable. “You’re welcome. But you should know the other two tenants really were thrown out. They were awful.”
They were and she wasn’t about to argue with him about it. But she definitely had some questions. “How long have you been planning this, Drew?”
“Since the night after Patricia Cain died. I answered your question. Now you answer one of mine. Why are you so afraid of me?”
His hands ran down her arms and she was caught. Oh, she knew if she pulled away, he would let her go, but she felt trapped by the warmth and heat of his big body, by the dark stare of his eyes. “I think you could hurt me if you wanted to.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Shelby.”
“Then why send the lawyers? If you’re telling me the truth, then you sent them even after you decided to hire me.”
“I needed time to figure out what I wanted to do. I’m a cautious man. I plot and I plan and I always follow through, but sometimes I have to give myself the time and space to do so. You were moving too quickly. I had to put a stop to it or I worried my sister and brothers would find out that Iris is alive, and I’m trying hard to avoid that until it has to come out.”
“They know there was a fourth conspirator.” Why did it have to feel so good to be close to him? Why did the man have to smell so good? Like sandalwood and soap.
His hands moved along her arms as though he couldn’t make himself stop touching her. “They do, but they know I’m working on it. They’ll let it lie for a while. They’re caught up in their own lives and that’s how it should be.”
He was willing to take on the burden for his siblings. She could understand that, even admire it. “All right. If you honestly think this is the best way, then I’ll follow your lead. But I worry Carly won’t buy it.”
“That I’m crazy about you or that you would ever give me the time of day?” His lips had curled up in the sexiest smile. “Did you tell Carly about the lawyers?”
“Yeah, I might have mentioned it. Why are you still holding me?”
“Do you want me to stop? We need to look like we’re used to touching.”
If he was going to spare his siblings from pain. Damn but he knew how to put her in a corner. Her logical, rational self was telling her they could find another way to make this work. Her body was moving in close like she was magnetically attracted to him. Which she kind of was. “You honestly think this is the way to go?”
He nodded, his hands finding her hips. “I definitely think it’s the way to go.”
“So according to that contract I’m supposed to be affectionate toward you. Does that mean what I think it means?”
“It means you should get used to kissing me. Or being kissed by me.”
“But it’s all for show.”
One hand came up, smoothing back her hair. “If that’s what you want it to be. I’m not going to lie to you. I want this to go somewhere. I’m going to use this time to try to convince you to find some actual affection for me. I think you showed me a weakness that I can exploit.”
“I did?”
“Yeah. All I have to do to get a hug is give one of your down-on-her-luck friends a superexpensive home.”
He was saying all the right things. He was melting her every defense. When she’d gotten the call, she’d been curious, but not afraid. She knew how to handle an entitled asshole who took himself far too seriously. But this Drew was infinitely more dangerous. This Drew was already making her feel more than she’d felt in years. “I’ll make sure you have a list. You probably could use the good karma.”
“Very likely,” he admitted. “Are you going to kiss me?”
Her heart started to race in her chest as she turned her eyes up to look at him. He was a lovely man. From his blue eyes to that jawline that looked as if it had been carved from marble, Drew Lawless was a walking fantasy. “I thought alpha men liked to do the kissing.”
It was only for their cover. That was all. She wasn’t sure why he was telling her it could be something more. They didn’t work on a fundamental level. It was insane to think they could. Maybe he was lonely. Just because he was a billionaire didn’t mean he didn’t have issues.
“I thought I would bow to the alpha female in the room,” he said. “I know you’re not going to believe this, but I don’t want to fuck this up. Because of the case we’re investigating and because I want you to like me. I told you before I can be awkward. I don’t really have much of a personal life.”
Because building a billion-dollar empire hadn’t left him a lot of time to date. “Not a ton of girlfriends, then?”
He stepped back, a wary smile on his face as he sat down. “No. I’ve dated a bit, but it was mostly friends-with-benefits situations and mostly with coworkers. I’m sorry. I’m pushing you too fast. I suppose my family will understand that we don’t do public displays of affection. I can be a bit chilly.”
But he didn’t want to be. What if he didn’t know how to reach out and ask for what he wanted?
He was exactly the kind of man who would plan and scheme to get what he wanted because he didn’t trust anyone enough to simply ask. This whole stupid, crazed plan was Drew Lawless’s way of asking. She still wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but she found she couldn’t leave him sitting there alone.
She moved in front of him before he could pull his chair back up. “Were you affectionate with your friends with benefits? Was comfort and tenderness a benefit for you?”
&nb
sp; He went still, suspicion plain on his face. “No. A date consisted of fucking and then talking about work. I never introduced any of them to my family. I chose logical, practical women. Women who understood it was purely physical.”
“Sex is more than simply physical, Drew. When you’re in love with someone, you want to be around them. Physical affection is how you show the person you love that you need him or her.” Maybe he needed more from her than a story. “I’m going to sit in your lap and we’re going to talk. Is that all right?”
A smile that was pure masculine anticipation hit his face. “Yeah.”
“Hey, this is all an academic pursuit,” she said with a laugh because she knew damn well she was lying. She lowered herself down and he curled his arms around her, one on her waist and the other against her knee.
“Understood,” he said a bit solemnly. “So you’ve been in love?”
“You haven’t?” She settled in, letting her arm drift up to his shoulders. It should have been awkward but somehow they seemed to fit.
“With the logical, practical women?” Drew asked with a chuckle. “No. The funny thing is, one of those women went completely batshit crazy over one of my engineers. I didn’t understand it at the time. She would get so upset, when she was such a reasonable woman. They’re married with two kids now, and she still loses her shit from time to time when he pisses her off.”
“Because she loves him.”
“So because she loves him she cries at the oddest times? He’ll send her flowers and she cries. I don’t get that. And my sister. She fell for Case and when he pissed her off, she ended up roaming the globe for six months trying to forget him. One or two voice mails when she got home, and she was all over him again.”
Somehow she thought there was more to the story than that. “Because she couldn’t really live without him.”
“I thought my father and mother were in love.”
She sighed and did what came naturally. She reached up and stroked his hair. He was always the slightest bit messy, his hair the tiniest bit too long to be truly under control. “I know you did. I did, too, when I was a child.”
His eyes closed, like a large cat enjoying a pet. “They didn’t stay together?”
“I thought you knew everything.”
His eyes opened slightly. “I would rather hear it from you.”
He’d been honest with her. She couldn’t pay that back by withholding and, besides, she’d dealt with it long ago. She cuddled against him, his arms tightening. How long had it been since she felt needed? Since she’d felt the twist of desire deep in her soul? “My father left when I was a kid. My brother and I got the big sit-down talk. The one about how it wasn’t our fault and he would always be our dad, but he needed to find himself, blah, blah, blah. He and Mom got married too young and he couldn’t possibly be a good father until he was happy with who he was. Apparently that took a twenty-year-old waitress, and from what I understand he’s a pretty good father to their kids.”
“So he remarried and had more kids and expected you all to get along?” Drew asked.
“I’ve never met them,” she explained, a wistful tone to her voice. “He came to see us a couple of times after the divorce, but he moved to Florida after he married her and then we got cards for a while. He sent me a hundred bucks when I graduated.”
“My mother murdered my father and tried to kill me, then shot my brother.”
So competitive. “You win.”
His hand moved along her leg, but there was something soothing about it. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to win. I guess I was just trying to say we have something in common. Really shitty parents.”
“My mother was wonderful. It was funny but she almost seemed to bloom after he was gone. She didn’t date much, but she seemed to enjoy herself. She threw herself into work and me and my brother and her girlfriends. I miss her. I miss my brother.”
“I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had Riley and Bran and Mia to think about,” Drew admitted quietly. “I couldn’t give up because they needed me.”
“I wasn’t too young when I lost her. I was an adult and she was sick for a long time. It didn’t make it easier. It only meant I accepted it more quickly. Losing my brother still aches.” And talking about them made her realize how much she missed having a family.
“If there was any way to prove that Patricia had him killed, I would do it. You have to know that.”
“I do. And you should know that I’m going to write the absolute best story I can. I’m going to be discreet and I’m not going to make it sensationalized. People should know that your father wasn’t the monster they made him out to be.”
“Are you ever going to kiss me?”
He was deflecting and she knew it, but she supposed he’d opened up enough for one day. She tilted her head up and reached for his face, cupping his cheek with her hand. “To prove we can make this work? That we can fool your family?”
“Haven’t figured it out yet? I want to prove we have chemistry. I want to prove that we can work together and play together and not because we’ve both got an itch to scratch. I’m sick of that, and I knew it the first time I saw you. I want to be the reason you need, Shelby. I want to be the only one you want. I’m willing to take the risk that you’ll use me for the time we’re together because I want you that badly. So kiss me because you want to. Kiss me because it’s part of our cover. I don’t care why as long as you kiss me.”
She brushed her lips against his, her whole body seeming to come to life. His lips were soft, his hands tight. He was enveloping her and she was completely defenseless against him.
She wrapped her arms around him as the kiss deepened, and suddenly she didn’t want to play it safe anymore. She’d been in her shell for so long and she wanted to come out of it, wanted to feel again. She dragged her tongue over his lower lip, and it seemed to awaken the beast in Drew.
He took over, the kiss going from sweet to carnal in an instant. His mouth opened, tongue sliding over hers and dominating with strength and a sensuality she’d never come across before. He kissed her long and hard, his hands molding to the curves of her body. Over and over again his tongue danced with hers. Never before had a kiss seemed so effortless. It was like they’d been kissing forever.
For a man who claimed he was socially awkward, he sure could kiss like a god.
It was getting out of hand, but she didn’t care. Nothing mattered except getting more of him. She could feel his cock under her, hardening, lengthening, getting ready for what it was meant to do. He could ease her back against the table, pull off her jeans and panties. It would be incendiary, like a rocket going off, an explosion she couldn’t contain. She could feel herself getting soft and wet and ready for him, as though her body had recognized its natural mate and wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“See, I told you we have chemistry.” His words rumbled along her lips.
She couldn’t argue with him. The world around them seemed hazy and unreal. There was nothing except his touch and scent and the sight of his eyes looking at her like he could eat her up. She knew she should stop him, knew it was getting out of control, but she couldn’t find the will. It had been so damn long since she wanted something she could actually have.
She wanted him.
Shelby let her fingers sink into his hair, drawing him back down. Breakfast could wait. She needed more of him.
“Should I grab some coffee and go?”
Shelby shrieked and would have fallen out of Drew’s lap had he not tightened his arms around her.
“You should have quietly left,” Drew said with a frown.
Bill Hatchard wore pajama bottoms and a robe wrapped around his lean body. He yawned and moved to the buffet. “I didn’t see a sock on the kitchen door. That’s how we did it back in the day. If you require privacy, hang a sock on the doorknob and I’ll
know to stay out of that particular room. Ah, cinnamon rolls.”
They had an odd relationship. Part father-son, part odd couple. All awkward right this second. “I should finish eating and then get ready. I assume you have a space for me to work at the office?”
He pouted down at her, the expression making him look like a gorgeous boy about to lose his favorite toy. “I’ve already set everything up for you.”
He was going to be so much trouble. She couldn’t help herself. She wanted to see the man smile. She leaned over and kissed him, a mere brushing of the lips, but it had the intended effect. His mouth curled up in a self-satisfied grin, and he watched as she moved back to her seat. She settled in as Drew and Hatch began sniping at one another over codes and business plans.
It was the first time in forever she hadn’t eaten breakfast alone. It was a nice feeling.
• • •
One week later, Drew sat down across from Ian Taggart and frowned. He looked out over the Dallas skyline. Taggart’s office was a little like Drew’s own—built to impress. Somehow all Drew could think about was Shelby and how the game was about to change.
The last week had been both perfect and perfectly frustrating. Shelby had settled in nicely, though she was still in her own room. She and Hatch were warily circling each other, but his house seemed so much more complete with Shelby there.
Their story was working beautifully on his staff. No one had questioned the fact that he would give the gorgeous redhead anything she wanted. She had her own office and a few employees who were helping her with research. They’d been carefully selected by Drew and were bound by ironclad NDAs.
He’d enjoyed the week with her. But he didn’t like the fact that he was stuck in a meeting now with the man they all called Big Tag, and Shelby was hanging out in the break room.