The intensity she saw in his eyes and heard in the power of his softly spoken words shook her. Her previous relationships were light and fun, until they weren’t anymore, but something about this man told her he was different. He was so confident, so secure, and the allure of his self-assurance put her at ease, as though she was exactly where she needed to be.
Before she had a chance to respond, the elevator delivered them to their floor and he led her into the expansive hallway.
Everything about the hotel spoke of understated elegance, from the heavily patterned, coordinated carpets and drapery to the crystal chandeliers and ornate plaster moldings. “This hotel is lovely. I can see why people speak so highly of it.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on Liam’s lips before it was gone again. “I’m glad you approve.” He slid a card into the door and waited for the green light before turning the pewter handle. “We have adjoining rooms. You can choose to have your own room…” He set her suitcase down in the entrance. “Or not. It’s up to you.”
She admired the fact he wasn’t pressuring her in spite of what happened in the car. Of course, she knew a man like Liam wouldn’t have to try and coerce a woman into bed. If anything, he was probably declining invitations from interested females all the time. He was obviously gorgeous… successful… a target for any woman looking to land a husband, which begged the question… “Why are you still single?”
He laughed as he walked toward the minibar and reached for two crystal glasses. “You don’t believe in pulling any punches, do you?”
She leaned against the wall as she watched him pour a splash of fifteen-year-old scotch into both glasses. He hadn’t bothered to ask her if she would prefer something else to drink, which led her to believe he was used to having people bend to his will. “Actually, I’d prefer a liqueur, if you have it?”
He raised an eyebrow and she smiled sweetly at him. “Of course you would.” He slid the second scotch glass aside and held up a bottle of Bailey’s. “Will this do? If not, I can call downstairs and—”
“No, that’ll be fine, thanks.”
He poured the thick liquid into a shot glass and crossed the room to hand it to her. “Here’s to chance encounters.”
She smiled as she touched her glass to his. “To chance encounters.” She watched him over the rim of her glass as she sipped the sweet liquid. “Tell me, do you have very many of these chance encounters, Liam?”
He threw his drink back before smiling at her. “Are you asking me if I sleep with a lot of women?”
On second thought, she didn’t want to know. She reached for her suitcase. “I think I’ll slip into my room, so I can shower before dinner.”
“The answer is no.” He waited for her to look at him before he said, “I’m very selective about the women I choose as partners. I can’t afford to be promiscuous.”
“I just assumed a man like you would take a different woman to bed every night.” There was freedom in knowing she wouldn’t see him again. She could say whatever she wanted without questioning whether her directness would be unappealing. They only had one night, so she intended to be herself in a way she never had with another man. No question of where it might lead, or whether he might be the one, because she knew there was no chance he could be.
“Why do you say that?”
“You’re attractive, successful, single. Why wouldn’t you choose to indulge in female companionship at every opportunity?”
He chuckled. “I didn’t say I don’t enjoy the company of women. I do, very much, in fact, but I can’t afford to fall into bed with every woman who shows an interest in my ban—” He cleared his throat. “In me.”
“What were you going to say?”
“Nothing.” He took her suitcase and unlocked the door to the adjoining suite. After setting her suitcase beside the king-sized bed, he said, “I’ll call down and make the arrangements for dinner. Does an hour and a half work for you?”
“Perfect.” She waited, wondering if he would try to pick up where they left off in the limo, but he turned and walked to the threshold of the adjoining rooms as she tried to quash her disappointment.
“If you need anything, just let me know, okay?”
You. I need you. “I will, thanks.”
Liam sank down to the bed and scraped his hands over his face. What the hell was happening to him? No woman had ever made him feel so edgy or uncertain. He always set the course for his relationships, and his partners happily followed his lead, but he found himself deferring to Alisa, waiting for her signal before he made his next move.
He wanted her with a ferocity that left him grasping to make sense of it. He was a middle-aged man with decades of experience with women, yet he’d never experienced this kind of immediate connection with a woman, especially not one passing through his life for only one night.
The thought of saying good-bye to her tomorrow, knowing he would never see her again, made his gut coil in knots of tension that stirred his body. He needed more time to get to know her, to try and decipher this inexplicable hold she seemed to have over him. He’d seen her admiring that diamond ring in the window, and instead of being disgusted by her greed, as he would with another date, he wanted her to have it. Just because it made her smile.
His Blackberry buzzed and the distraction relieved him. Business, as always, would remind him of what was important. “Bryson.” He winced when he realized he’d said that loud enough for her to overhear, had she been listening.
“Hey, bro.”
“I thought you’d be sipping Daiquiris on the beach with Tracey by now.” His younger brother, Matt, served as Bryson’s CFO and his right hand. “What’s wrong? You do something to piss her off already?”
Matt laughed. “First of all, I don’t sip Daiquiris, and second of all, I know how to keep my woman happy, which is more than I can say for you.”
Liam knew how to keep a woman happy; he just chose not to. He smiled when he heard the shower in Alisa’s bathroom. Just knowing she was only a few feet away gave him a sense of peace he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. “What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to talk to you about that Lawson deal. Paul told me—”
“Can this wait until we get back to the office, Matt? I’m kinda busy right now.”
“Since when does anything take precedence over business? You got another big deal in the works you haven’t told me about? Hey, were you able to buy that piece of land in Costa Rica you’ve had your eye on? That one is gonna be—”
“No, this has nothing to do with business.” He knew he couldn’t get his brother off the phone unless he told him the truth. “I, uh, met someone on the plane.”
Matt chuckled. “Okay, gimme the deets.”
Liam wasn’t ready to talk about Alisa, not when he couldn’t even make sense of what was happening himself. “She’s great. I like her. A lot.”
“What the hell is goin’ on with you?”
“Nothing. What’re you talking about?”
“You’re usually so nonchalant about women. When was the last time you liked one… a lot? Especially one you just met?”
Liam winced when he heard his sister-in-law’s voice in the background. Matt and Tracey had been on him for years about settling down and finding a suitable role model for his thirteen-year-old daughter, Abby. “Would you guys back off? I’m still getting to know her.”
“But…”
“But nothing, it’s not going anywhere. She lives in Nashville.”
“Damn it.”
Liam shared the sentiment. It was just his luck; the most intriguing women he’d met… ever… and she lived thousands of miles away. “Besides, she’s younger, a lot younger.”
“How young are we talking?”
“Twenty-five.”
Matt laughed. “You had me scared there for a minute. I thought you were gonna tell me she was barely legal.”
“Shut up.”
“So, tell me about her.”
; “God, you sound like such a girl. What are we, in high school?”
“You can either tell me or I’ll put my wife on the phone and let her grill you.”
“Don’t even think about.” Liam pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing he had no choice but to concede. “The truth is, I don’t know a lot about her yet, aside from her age, the fact that she lives in Nashville, works in fashion, was engaged, is a daddy’s girl…”
“Hold up a minute. She was engaged? Is the fiancé still in the picture?”
Liam hoped not. “I don’t think so. She said they broke up a while ago.”
“How long is a while?”
“How the hell should I know? Like I said, I just met the girl a few hours ago.” He was getting tired of playing twenty questions with his kid brother. “We’re going out for dinner in a bit. That’ll give me a chance to get to know her better, and I’ll find out what the deal is with the ex before we… take it any further.”
“I just don’t want you to be her rebound guy. You know that never ends well.”
The thought of Alisa using him to get over some other man made him sick. When he made love to her, he wanted her undivided attention. The image of her making love to him and fantasizing about someone else…
“She must’ve freaked when she found out who you were, huh?”
“She doesn’t know.”
“What? Why the hell haven’t you told her?”
“I don’t know. I just haven’t.” His brother would never understand. He had married his high school sweetheart the year after they graduated college. He had no idea what it was like to swim in waters infested with sharks on the hunt for the green lining his pockets. “I want to get to know her better first, try and figure out what her deal is.”
“You know you could be making a big mistake, keeping it from her.”
“Listen, the chances of me seeing her again are slim. She may never find out.”
“Is that what you want?” Matt asked quietly. “Just another meaningless affair?”
“No.” He ran his fingers through his hair, something he only did on the rare occasions he was agitated. “Hell, I don’t know.”
“Man, listen to me. You’re not getting any younger.”
“Thanks for the reminder.”
“I’m serious. You really want to be alone forever? Doesn’t it get old, going home to that big, empty house every night?”
“My house isn’t empty. Abby’s there.”
“Okay, fine. Doesn’t it get lonely going home to an empty bed every night?”
He would never admit that it was getting harder with every year that slipped past. “You know how busy I am with work. I don’t have time for a relationship…” Liam’s mouth dropped open when the adjoining door between their suites opened and Alisa appeared, still damp and wearing only a towel. “Jesus,” he whispered, looking her up and down as he began to salivate.
“What? What is it?” Matt asked.
“I gotta go. Talk to you later.” He let the phone fall to the bed, and he noticed a flash of annoyance cross her face. That’s when he realized she’d overheard the tail end of his conversation with his brother. “I was just talking to—”
She held her hand up as she walked past him. “You don’t owe me an explanation. I left my purse out here; there’s something in it that I needed. I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation.”
“I wasn’t talking to another woman, if that’s what you think.”
She bent at the knees to retrieve her purse from the floor. “It’s none of my business who you were talking to.”
He got up off the bed and went to her. Cupping her shoulders in his hands, he held her captive, forcing her to look at him. “Listen, I was being honest with you earlier. There’s no wife, no girlfriend, no lover waiting for me at home. I swear.”
She looked at the hand on her shoulder. “There’s no tan line, but that doesn’t mean anything. Maybe you don’t wear a ring because you engage in these… affairs… all the time.”
“Damn it, Alisa…” His frustration mounted as he thrust his hands into her wet hair and tipped her head back. “Trust me, you’re the only woman I want right now.” He wasn’t going to let her get away because of a misunderstanding, not when there was so much left to explore.
He finally took the kiss he had craved ever since his eyes landed on those full, glossy pink lips the first time. As soon as his tongue broke the seal of her lips, the sparks ignited a fire that lit him up inside. Every nerve ending was on high alert as he plunged in and out of her mouth, letting his lips travel over her jaw, down her neck, to the swell of her exposed breasts.
“Liam,” she said, pushing against his shoulders, “I need to be sure about this… about you.”
He tried to leash his irritation as her words settled over him. He was moving too fast; he needed to figure out how to slow this down before he scared her away. “You’re right.” He held her face between his hands as he leaned his head against her forehead. “You finish getting ready. I’m gonna jump in the shower.” A nice, cold shower.
She looped her thumbs through his belt loops. There was no way for either of them to ignore the presence of his arousal between them, letting her know how much it cost him to walk away from her now. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Don’t,” he said, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. “Don’t say another word. I just need a few minutes to pull myself together.”
Chapter Five
Alisa was suitably impressed when Liam led her to a small but elegant private dining room set with a table for two. “This is lovely,” she said, taking the seat their host held for her. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure, ma’am.” He turned to Liam. “Sir, shall I bring the wine you requested?”
Liam smiled at him. “Yes, thank you, Robert.”
The man seemed pleased Liam thought to address him by name, though he wore a gold name plate affixed to his black-and-white uniform. “Okay, tell me the real story. You said you were in the hospitality industry, but I’m getting the impression that you’re a pretty big player in that game.”
Alisa had spent enough time in her father’s company to observe how people treated VIPs and Liam definitely commanded preferential treatment.
He folded his arms over his broad chest and watched her carefully for a lingering moment before he said, “Okay, you got me. Last name’s Bryson.”
“Bryson?” She let his announcement settle over her before she said, “You’re Liam Bryson. This is your hotel chain?” She rolled her eyes. “No wonder they treat you like royalty around here.” She took a sip from her water glass before she asked, “Why were you so reluctant to tell me who you are?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Women tend to see only the dollar signs when they meet me.”
Her eyes traveled over his well-cut black suit before coming back to rest on his handsome face. “I can assure you, the last thing I think about is money when I look at you.”
He smirked. “I’m relieved to hear that.”
She had spent her entire life around wealthy celebrities—her father, Ty, Nikki, Tori, her fiancé—and she knew people treated them differently because of their wealth and fame. She couldn’t blame Liam for being discreet. In fact, she kind of admired him for it. Many men would have used that to try and entice her, but he seemed determined to downplay it. “I know it’s not easy. My father is Trey Turner.” Since he was honest with her, she felt she owed him the same measure of respect. “And my fiancé is… uh, was Nick Sinclair.”
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, and when he opened them to look at her, she was surprised to see the tense set of his jaw. “Is he still in the picture?”
“Who? Nick?”
“Yes.”
Dare she tell him that Nick called her every other week, begging for another chance? “He, uh, still calls me from time to time.”
“Are you still sleeping with him?”
She didn’t know why she was so surpri
sed by his direct question. He obviously didn’t waste time worrying about diplomacy. “No.”
“Good.”
“You’re willing to take me at my word, just like that?”
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Liam glanced at the waiter, who was opening the bottle of wine he requested and pouring a sample into his glass. He swirled the burgundy liquid around, brought it to his lips, and let it linger there while he watched her watching him. He took a measured sip and said, “Excellent, thank you.”
“Very well, sir.” He poured wine into each of their glasses. “Shall I give you a few more moments with the menu?”
Liam stared at Alisa as he said, “I already know what I want. You?”
The temperature in the cozy room seemed to ratchet up a few degrees as he waited for her response. “Um, I’ll let you decide.”
“Let’s start with grilled calamari, followed by filet mignon, and crème brulée for dessert.”
“Very well, sir. How would you like the steaks prepared?”
“Does medium work for you?” Liam asked.
“Yes.” Alisa smiled when the waiter collected their menus and walked away. “Are you always so decisive?”
“I know what I like, and when I see something I want, I don’t believe in wasting time.” He leaned forward, grasping her hand in his. “I like you… I want you… and now that you know my story, there’s no reason to waste any more time, is there?”
She knew a man like Liam was used to getting everything he wanted, which made her want to be the exception to that rule. She didn’t intend to be just another one of the women who yielded to his power, content to let him take the lead. “You may know how you feel, but I’m still trying to figure you out. The physical attraction aside, I’d like to know who you are beneath the fancy suits and flashy jewelry.”
He laughed as he glanced at the diamond Rolex decorating his wrist. “I guess I’m not very good at being subtle, am I?”
“No, you’re not.” Alisa held the stem of the wineglass between two fingers. “May I ask you something?”
High Stakes Page 4