Down kitty. Lydia told herself. He made it clear it was a business deal. Not a date, not that she totally believed him. The energy he was putting off made his arousal clear as day. She could smell it on him. If they ended up alone, she knew nothing about this was innocent. All she needed was to get those papers signed, trying to keep this as professional as she could, she made sure she wore a business suit to the dinner tonight. Pants. Shoes. Layers of clothes. Not a dress. Nothing she could easily take off. Keep her hands to herself. She was determined to just get the papers signed and be done with it.
His parent's had left a portion of money from the oil field to the pack. She just needed him to sign that he understood and could make the monthly donation to their funds. They'd left the pack, but had always had family obligations to their roots and had felt obligated to take care of their own. Tomas wasn't the kind of money hungry man who'd contest this. From everything she'd learned about him he was a billionaire who lived like an average farmer and didn't waste money. He didn't have the most expensive house or truck, he wore regular clothes, but he did pay his people well who worked for him.
Putting on a touch of lip gloss and some mascara as her only adornment, she checked her gold watch and realized she was going to be late if she didn't get her butt out of the door now. She rented a room from her grandmother and lived above the garage. She really didn't need to live with her grandma, but it was the only way she could take care of her and keep an eye on her without making it obvious that she was doing it for her grandma's well being, rather than her own. She didn't care what people thought about her, but her grandma needed her. Her parents were off doing their own thing now that they'd gotten divorced and grandma was the only family she had left right now. Okay, so maybe she needed her grandma a little bit too. Smiling as she locked the door and walked down the steps to her truck that was parked in the alleyway off the garage, she started the car and got in.
She drove to Mack's Steak House and found a parking spot. She'd heard about this place, but had never eaten here before. Walking inside, she checked her watch again. She was a few minutes late, but she thought he'd still be there. The place was fancy. She wouldn't have been able to afford this place on her paralegal income without saving up for it. Deciding she'd just get a small salad and drink water, she let her eyes search the room until she found Tomas sitting in a quiet booth against the back wall. Walking over to him, she sat down and looked at him.
"Hi," She said, sliding into the booth and set the documents on the table for him to look at. A few minutes later the waiter came over to get her drink order. "Just water, thanks."
"Don't worry about dinner, my treat." He told her and fingered the folder on the table before pushing it away. "I'll look at this over dessert."
"You intend to keep me here as long as possible, don't you?" Lydia asked him her eyes narrowing. Inside her, her cat was purring happily at the idea of being near Tomas, though Lydia on the outside felt like the smartest thing to do was run as fast as she could. He was dangerous. He could break her heart. Everything about him screamed animal magnetism and she wanted to see if he tasted as good as he looked. Quickly grabbing her water and drinking a big gulp she tried to forget those kind of thoughts and focus on the task at hand. Getting through this meal and getting the papers signed.
Picking up her menu she tried not to gasp out loud at the prices, fifty dollars for a steak. twenty two dollars for a simple salad? Setting the menu down, she wondered if she should just starve.
"If you don't order what you want, I'll order for you and I have a hefty appetite." Tomas warned her, arching a brow reading the expression on her face correctly when she put the menu down.
"Are you always used to getting your way?" She asked him sighing and picking the menu back up. Trying not to look at the prices. She came from a fiscally conservative family. Her mother had been a teacher, her dad a mechanic. Together they'd had all the basics, but not a lot of extras. It had taught her to not waste money and to value what she did have.
"Almost always, why, are you wanting to challenge me and see who will win?" Tomas's eyes narrowed, the idea of chasing his prey had him excited and his nostrils flared. He could smell her arousal and she sunk lower into her seat trying to hide from him. He chuckled at her discomfort. She wasn't immune to him, but she was sure trying to pretend she was. It would make it that much sweeter when he got his way.
"Okay, since it's your treat, I'm getting a steak... AND a salad." She said snapping her menu shut and giving him a hard look. If he was offering to pay and intended to torture her, she might as well make the dinner count if she had to deal with his innuendo's and his clear intentions of interest.
He chuckled at her feistiness and smiled at her. He liked a woman who wasn't afraid of offending him. So many women tried to say what he wanted to hear, he liked that she just said the truth. It made her all that much more desirable to him.
They ate dinner in relative peace, he finally ordered a dessert and made her split it with him. While the waiter took his debit card, he finally stopped to look over the papers she'd brought with her.
He signed them but refused to hand them over. "Come home with me, I want to talk a business deal with you, but I don't want to monopolize their booth all night."
"Business? What kind of business?" She said narrowing her eyes at him.
"The kind that says if you want these papers back, you'll have to earn them." He sat back and looked at her, an animalistic gleam in his eyes that challenged her.
"Fine. But if you touch me, I'll bite you." She threatened him.
"Promise?" He asked her laughing as he put his card away.
Chapter 3
"So why am I here?" Lydia asked him and crossed her arms. She stood in the middle of his living room. It had rustic furniture and decorations, with wolf paintings all over the house. It was clear that it was meant to be a country style house and despite his billions of dollars, he didn't have a house that reflected his income. It was a nice, comfortable place, the kind where you could see raising kids and wouldn't worry about them spilling a drink on the floor or leaving a handprint on the wall.
"I want to find a wife." He told her, watching her reaction carefully. "And due to my money situation, it's hard to find a woman that doesn't know who I am, and is only interested in me for my money. I want you to find me that wife, Lydia."
"Okay, I'm a paralegal, not a dating service." She said and blinked at him. She could picture going to bed with him and admitted to herself at least, she felt a pang of jealously at the idea of some other woman being intimate with him. She dropped her gaze to the floor to hide the flash of disappointment in her eyes. "I suggest you use the internet. I'm going now."
"Wait, hear me out." Tomas told her and grabbed her arm, his strong fingers curled around her upper arm and he took a step closer to her. Close enough he could inhale her scent. He hovered close to her, putting her outside of her comfort zone.
"Okay, I'm listening," She said, closing her eyes and put her hand up on his chest before she could stop herself. She could feel his heart pounding under his shirt and she opened her eyes to look up at him.
"I'm lonely. I want a wife who isn't interested in my money. A woman who when I come home is here and happy to see me, who wants children, who wants to grow old together. Someone who can appreciate a hard day's work but also knows how to get dirty, play in the mud or ride a horse. I can cook for myself, I already have a house keeper, but I need a lover, and a friend. You're files on the coffee table, take it if you want, but I'd like you find me a couple of women who might fit my criteria. I don't want to go through a dating service, I believe they could be fooled and hook me up with a money-hungry woman. You on the other hand wouldn't have any ulterior motive besides getting me out of your hair. If you say no, I will make sure your bosses find all sorts of things to do that will send you out here and put you at my mercy." He threatened her and then when she gasped as he tightened his grip on her arm, he couldn't stop himself. H
e kissed her.
Lydia thought for a moment about how he could possibly kiss her while talking about wanting a wife, and her to find him one, what a cad! When his tongue stroked her lips all thoughts about his jackassery had her forgetting why she was here and her melting against him. Her heart was pounding in her chest so loud she could almost hear it and wondered if he could too. His tongue thrust into her mouth, teasing her, making her ache in places that hadn't been touched in quite a while. She'd been so busy the last couple of years she hadn't had time for men.
When he finally pulled back, his eyes glowed almost yellow in their passion. His wolf was close to the surface and if she hadn't been a shifter herself, it might have frightened her. He looked almost on the verge of turning and instead he pushed her back until she hit the wall and he yanked hard on her dress. The straps broke and he pushed her bra down. She could have protested, she probably should have protested, but her cat was purring so hard she thought her head was going to vibrate with her animal side happy to engage with him in foreplay.
The minute his hand grabbed one of her large breasts with his palm and fingers all logical and rational thought went out the window. Grabbing his cock through his pants before she could stop herself, she encouraged him to keep going. Pressing kisses to his neck and chin she hissed a breath with his fingers tugged hard on one of her nipples. Moving her hand to the button of his pants, she worked it free until she could pull his cock out his pants and touch the velvety smoothness.
Rubbing her palm against it, he was so thick she could barely wrap her hand all the way around him, she grew wet when she saw how big he was. She'd always been a size queen, though she didn't admit it out loud often.
Finally pulling back and pausing, she looked at him. "I don't think if you're wanting me to find you a wife, you should be kissing me."
"I don't have a wife yet, were both single and the attraction between us is on fire. If you're not looking for a forever relationship, I can handle having tonight." He kissed her, hinting that he'd be interested in more with her if she was, letting her stew on that. Tomas didn't want to scare her off, but he wanted her. And not just for tonight if she'd let him.
"Kiss me Lydia, I want to feel you purr." He told her, subconsciously acknowledging her shifter side. He dipped his head and took a nipple into his mouth, rolling his tongue around the bumps on her skin. The large nipple grew hard in his mouth and peaked into a little nub from the soft flesh he'd first licked. He sighed against her skin, growing aroused from her physical reaction. He could smell her growing wet through her dress and it made him want to bury his face between her legs and gorge himself on her flavor until she was screaming his name over and over again.
"We really shouldn't be doing this," Lydia gasped as she buried her hands in his hair. When he lifted her dress and pulled on her panties hard enough to rip them off and drop them on the floor she spread her legs before realizing what she was doing, giving him easier access.
He dropped to his knees right there in the living room and buried his face against her flesh. As his tongue delved into her most delicate parts, he teased her and tasted her. She got his face soaked with her juices as she grew more aroused from his tongue touching the most sensitive parts of her body. He sucked on her clit hard, until her hips were gyrating against his mouth. Digging her fingers hard into his scalp she squeezed him hard as she climaxed and bucked against him, trying not to fall down. His hands came around to cup her bottom and support her, as he kept pressing against her, pushing her over the edge into another orgasm right after the first.
"Too sensitive, slow down cowboy," She finally panted as her parts felt like they were on fire.
He stood up and kissed her, letting her musky taste mingle into her mouth against her tongue. He lifted one of her legs up and supported her and guided his cock to her vagina. Thrusting deep inside her, he lifted her other leg up and supported her with his arms as her back pressed against the wall. He never broke the kiss as he pumped himself into her body. Her juices flowed around him, coating her thighs and anything else it touched. He screwed her hard and fast and after a few moments he tensed, his entire body shuttered and he jerked inside of her heaving himself against her as he came.
After a few moments he slid her body down off of his and pulled her dress down. Looking down at her now that he broke the kiss their eyes met and neither of them said a word.
Eventually, Lydia bent down, scooped up her panties and the paperwork off the coffee table and left.
"Don't forget to call me about finding me a wife." He yelled at her as she went out of the front door to her truck. She climbed in and went home. She was planning on putting this memory in her events of things that shouldn't have happened, but that she didn't quite regret and move on with her life.
She had no intention of helping Tomas find a wife, especially after sleeping with him. The fact that he'd ask her to do that, and then seduce her in the middle of his living room made her question his sanity. What kind of man would ask a woman to help him find a suitable wife, and then screw her brains out five minutes later?
A total rake, that was who! Lydia decided as she pulled into the alley way and parked her truck. Sneaking up stairs to her garage apartment, she bathed and changed into her pajamas. Throwing the underwear away since it was ruined, she decided to just file the paperwork he signed in the morning and pretend he never existed.
Chapter 4
Lydia was hugging the toilet a few weeks later, feeling like she had the flu. No one else in the office was sick but her, and they'd sent her home refusing to let her come back until she'd seen a doctor. No one else wanted to get sick. She felt like she'd been hit by a bus. Everything ached.
"Come in." She said when a knock on her door came.
"Lydia?" Her grandmother Lou-Ann walked in and stared at her in the bathroom. "You've been sick for a few days now, have you gone to see a doctor yet?"
"It's Friday, if I'm still sick Monday, I'll make an appointment." She told her grandma then pressed her head against the wood vanity next to the toilet and tried to breathe.
"I don't mean to be nosy, but is there any possibility you're pregnant?" She asked Lydia, concerned.
"Of course not...." Then Lydia groaned loudly. "Oh I'm going to kill him."
"Who are you going to kill?" Her grandmother asked her looking confused."
"Tomas, one of my clients, no don't get that look on your face grandma, it wasn't like that. He was asking me to find him a wife, and then one thing led to another and ugh. It was over a month ago, it never occurred to me that one time would be all it took. Not after all the years it took mom to get pregnant and you only having one child because of infertility issues." Lydia shook her head. It was just her luck. The better question wasn't how it happened, since she knew that, but what she was going to do about it.
"Lydia, I assume you plan on keeping the baby?" Her grandma's gaze narrowed on her.
"Of course grandma, I'm not a heathen." Lydia said, looking offended and then felt a little green.
"Let me get you a lemon and some crackers. Keep lemon or mint water around to help. Ginger also can help control this." Her grandma left the room and a few minutes later came back with a handful of crackers and some water with lemon in it. "Drink this."
Lydia sipped the water slowly and made sure it would stay down. She nibbled on a cracker her grandma handed her and realized after a few minutes she finally felt good enough to stand up.
"That actually worked," She was surprised and hugged her grandma gently.
"Of course it did." Her grandma gave her a look that said 'did you think I was stupid?' and then gave her a half squeeze back. "So, you want me to go to the drug store and get you a test so you can be sure?"
"You'd do that grandma?" Lydia was shocked. Getting her grandma to leave the house was difficult. These days she rarely went anywhere.
"For you, sweetie? Absolutely!" Her grandma gave her a gentle smile and hugged her again. "I'll be back in a jiffy, you j
ust wait here."
Lydia brushed her teeth and changed her clothes. She felt a million times better by the time her grandmother came back with a bag from the drugstore. Taking out one of the little boxes, she looked at it and read the instructions.
"We never had these back in my day." Her grandmother told her looking at one of the two boxes of tests she'd bought for Lydia. "Half the time girls just popped out a baby and had no idea how far along they were."
"Wow," Lydia said laughing and then went back into the bathroom to pee on a stick. The two pink lines popped up before she even finished peeing and her hand started to shake. It was one thing to think about it being a possibility, another to see the hard proof in front of her. At least now her work could let her come back knowing she wasn't contagious. "Damn."
Walking out she held the test up for her grandma to see.
"I guess you don't need to take the other one then." Her grandma joked and patted her on the shoulder. "What do you plan on doing about it? Are you going to tell the father?"
"If I have a choice? I don't know if I want to tell the father. He's the type of guy who'd probably think I got pregnant on purpose to trap him into marriage. I suppose the best thing I can do is sign up paperwork stating if he gives up his parental rights he owes no financial obligation for the child." Lydia said, thinking out loud.
"Uhhh, Lydia, have you ever considered that maybe he'd want to know his child too?" Her grandma asked her softly and shook her head. "Just because the man's not pregnant doesn't mean he didn't help make the baby and wouldn't feel a responsibility to helping raise the child too."
"Yeah, but grandma--" Lydia started to say and was interrupted.
"No, no buts. You can't just decide to cut him out of the child's life without even having a frank discussion with him. You need to communicate clearly and give him a chance to tell you how he feels about everything. You said he was looking to settle down, you obviously liked him enough to get into bed with him, so why not see if you two are compatible outside of the bedroom?" She asked her granddaughter.
Sent Away To The Highlander (Scottish Highlander Romance) Page 52