“I Want You Too Badly To Play Fair,”
Preston said. “So here’s your warning, angel. Leave now or stay and pay the consequences.”
“What consequences?” Lily asked.
“Gamble with that sweet body of yours.”
Lily paled but didn’t walk away. He admired her spirit, but wanted to warn her not to let every damned thing she felt show on her face. He should walk away.
Lily stood poised like a rabbit ready to run from a predator. He knew one wrong word would send her flying from him. And he knew that he should be saying that wrong word and sending her away.
But one right word would make her stay….
Dear Reader,
Ring in the New Year with the hottest new love stories from Silhouette Desire! The Redemption of Jefferson Cade by BJ James is our MAN OF THE MONTH. In this latest installment of MEN OF BELLE TERRE, the youngest Cade overcomes both external and internal obstacles to regain his lost love. And be sure to read the launch book in Desire’s first yearlong continuity series, DYNASTIES: THE CONNELLYS. In Tall, Dark & Royal, bestselling author Leanne Banks introduces a prominent Chicago family linked to European royals.
Anne Marie Winston offers another winner with Billionaire Bachelors: Ryan, a BABY BANK story featuring twin babies. In The Tycoon’s Temptation by Katherine Garbera, a jaded billionaire discovers the greater rewards of love, while Kristi Gold’s Dr. Dangerous discovers he’s addicted to a certain physical therapist’s personal approach to healing in this launch book of Kristi’s MARRYING AN M.D. miniseries. And Metsy Hingle bring us Navy SEAL Dad, a BACHELORS & BABIES story.
Start the year off right by savoring all six of these passionate, powerful and provocative romances from Silhouette Desire!
Enjoy!
Joan Marlow Golan
Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire
The Tycoon’s Temptation
KATHERINE GARBERA
Books by Katherine Garbera
Silhouette Desire
The Bachelor Next Door #1104
Miranda’s Outlaw #1169
Her Baby’s Father #1289
Overnight Cinderella #1348
Baby at His Door #1367
Some Kind of Incredible #1395
The Tycoon’s Temptation #1414
KATHERINE GARBERA
is a transplanted Florida native who is learning to live in Illinois. She’s happily married to the man she met in Fantasyland and spends her days writing, reading and playing with her kids. She is a past recipient of the Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award.
DEDICATION:
Women friends are important to me, and I wanted to take this moment to say thanks to some of the incredible women who have touched my life.
Nancy Thompson, Francesca Galarraga and Mary Louise Wells: Thanks for being my cheering section, crying shoulder and laughing buddies—in short, my friends. Without you ladies, I don’t think I’d be sane!
Linda Beardsley, Donna Sutermesiter and Charlotte Smith: Thanks for always believing in me.
Jude Bradbury and Susan Hartnett: Thanks for giving me a strong example to follow. Thanks somehow seems inadequate, but it will have to do!
And, too, two little ladies who influence me by the example of their joy in life, Courtney Garbera and Katie Beardsley.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
A special thank you to Mesty Hingle, who shared her knowledge of New Orleans with me and also some books on her beautiful city. Any mistakes are my own.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
One
“Mr. Dexter will see you now.”
Lily Stone gathered her day planner and followed the secretary through the walnut paneled door. New Orleans was hot in the middle of August, and she wished she were outside baking in the sun instead of standing in this nicely air-conditioned room.
She’d wasted at least two days trying to meet with Dexter, and she was determined to stay in his office this afternoon until he met with her.
Her heels sank into the thick carpeting as she walked into the office of the CEO of Dexter Resort & Spa, an international hotel company. The entire room was posh and sleek, decorated with chrome-and-glass furniture and the kind of big desk meant to intimidate whoever sat in the guest chair.
It worked.
Her attaché case felt as if it were made of lead instead of leather. It bumped awkwardly against her leg as she approached the large desk. She’d been successfully running her family’s business since she was twenty, but she suddenly felt as if this was her first big client. She wore her best suit, a black-and-red affair that her assistant, Mae, said made her look sharp and professional.
Preston Dexter stood to greet her. He held her hand for the required three pumps and then slid away. His palm had been warm against hers, and his long, neatly manicured fingers had made her hand look small and fragile. Just the way she felt.
He smelled of expensive cologne but also of something essentially male. Not unlike her brothers. The thought helped her relax. It didn’t matter that this man could buy her house and business with his pocket change. He was just a guy like Dash and Beau.
Except there was something indefinable about him that made him different from Dash and Beau. She stared at his gray eyes for a moment. There was an element of cold calculation in his eyes. An element of world-weary cynicism that her brothers didn’t have.
“Ms. Stone, please have a seat. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”
She doubted he was really sorry. Probably he regretted that she’d spent the afternoon sitting in his lobby, but she knew they were going to have a problem if they didn’t talk now. He’d sent back three of her proposed room enhancements for the regular guest room in White Willow House, and time was running out. The resort would be opening January 1.
Decisions needed to be made and antiques found, then replicated for his newest resort. Her antique shop, Sentimental Journey, did a brisk business of adding finishing touches to many of the older mansions in Louisiana.
“No problem.”
She’d been on her own a long time, and she’d never felt so shaken by another person’s presence, especially a man. But his gray eyes entranced her. There, hidden in the frozen depths, was something that made her want to reach out to him, the way she had to her brothers when a girl had just rejected them.
He wore his Armani suit with an ease that was out of step with the men she knew. They were all blue jeans and overalls types. Working-class men with callused hands and dirty nails.
“What can I do for you, Ms. Stone?” he asked. He settled back in his executive chair, steepling his fingers across his chest as he waited for her response.
His lips were hard looking, and she wondered if they’d feel firm under her own. The first tingles of desire pulsed through her body. Her nipples tightened against the lacy camisole she wore under her suit jacket. Her pulse increased and she shifted restlessly in her chair.
Damn! What was wrong with her? This was a professional meeting. One she’d struggled for a week and a half to have.
Forcing her attention back to her rehearsed speech, she took a calming breath and compelled herself to ignore the desire pulsing through her body, making her heart race and her blood sing. “Thank you for seeing me this afternoon, Mr. Dexter. As I told Mr. Ro
hr, I like to know the people behind the houses where I place antiques.”
“No problem. I’m not planning to keep White Willow House as my home, as you know. It will be the newest in the Dexter Resort & Spa chain.”
She crossed her legs and felt the slit in her skirt open. She tugged it back together, uncomfortable showing that much thigh.
“Mr. Rohr mentioned that to me. I want to create an image that fits with the corporate culture of the Dexter chain. Since you sent back the last two proposals I submitted, I thought it would be best if we met face-to-face.”
“I can answer all of your questions in about fifteen minutes. I’m afraid I have a dinner meeting across town. I’m still confident that your firm can do an excellent job with the decor.”
Lily relaxed as they started talking business. He was a busy man and a little impatient with her for demanding to meet with him. In fact, he’d rescheduled this meeting twice already, but Lily had refused to be put off this time. As the CEO of Dexter, he had an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the company and its corporate culture, and she wanted the kind of information that couldn’t be gleaned from the annual report or a prospectus. She wanted to create more than a hotel lobby decorated with antiques. She wanted to create the warm feeling of home.
She concentrated on staring just over his shoulder so that she wouldn’t have to think about the cleft in his chin or the way his eyes seemed to see right through her clothing.
“I like to see the personality of a family or business reflected in the rooms.”
“Well, I’ll be happy to help. I was impressed with your work on the Seashore Mansion in Hilton Head,” he said, smiling at her with the kind of charm that usually annoyed her. He had charisma. Not like Hollywood hotshots that were all flash and no substance, but energy and verve about his business that made him seem alive in a way she’d never been.
“How did you know I decorated the Seashore?” she asked. She’d done the mansion as a favor to her college roommate and her new husband. It had been her first commercial job.
His gray eyes narrowed, focusing on her mouth. Did she have something on it? Oh, damn, her lipstick had probably smeared onto her teeth. Great way to make a first impression!
“The owner is a friend of mine,” he said.
She ran her tongue over her teeth hoping to wipe away whatever he’d been staring at. He knew Kelly?
“I spent six weeks down there talking to Brit and Kelly before I started working on the Seashore. But your timetable is a bit tighter.”
She pulled her day planner out of her attaché and began making notes. The planner made her feel invincible. It was an important tool for staying organized, and she’d written the word relax on the top of today’s date. She smiled as she read it now. She’d also composed a list of questions, because she’d figured he wouldn’t give her the full thirty minutes she’d asked for.
“Well, what would you like to know about Dexter Resorts? We’re a family-founded company that has grown since the early twenties.”
“I read the annual report and your prospectus. Tell me about yourself and what you like best when you stay in a hotel.”
His eyes narrowed, and now that her eyes had adjusted to the sun she could see the details of his face. His jaw was square and strong and if she hadn’t felt confident about herself and the job she could do, she would have stood up and left.
“What do my likes have to do with the hotel lobby or guest rooms?”
She paused for effect. Obviously Dexter was used to people jumping when he told them to. But then again so was she. “I can narrow down my list of selections.”
“Buy what Rohr told you to buy,” he said. His tone was cold.
“If all you want is an inventory list of antiques, Mr. Dexter, maybe you should find another decorator.”
“I want the same quality service you gave the Seashore Mansion.”
She smiled at him. “Well then, I’ll need some answers.”
“Did you ask Brit all these questions?” he asked, one eyebrow coolly raised. So he knew Brit and not Kelly.
“No, I asked Kelly. Do you have a wife?” The personal question obviously threw him because he sat back in his plush chair and didn’t speak for a minute.
“No.”
She doodled on the blank page in her planner. How could she have asked that question?
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried into your personal life.”
“No problem,” he said. “I pushed you. Why didn’t you back down?”
For the first time since they’d begun talking, she looked him straight in the eye. Curiosity and a spark of interest that was blatantly male replaced the aloofness.
“Would you?” she asked, turning the tables on him. There was something about Preston Dexter that made her think if she let him get the upper hand, he’d keep manipulating her.
“No, but I’m used to people jumping when I order them to do so.”
“So am I,” she said, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice.
Dexter laughed, and for a minute he didn’t intimidate her. There was a hint of vulnerability and mirth on his face. She smiled to herself, knowing that she’d created the kind of bond she always sought with her clients. Laughter went a long way to establishing trust.
“Where did you learn to give orders?” he asked.
“I raised my two younger brothers, and they would run roughshod over anyone who couldn’t stand their ground.”
She could tell he wanted to ask more questions about her background but he controlled his curiosity and started telling her his likes and dislikes in a resort hotel. He was a sophisticated man, but his tastes were simple.
“I don’t want to feel like I’m in a museum and not allowed to touch anything, or that if I sit in some fragile-looking chair it’ll fall apart,” he said. And Lily felt herself begin to like the cold, hard, sophisticated man behind the desk, and that scared her. Because he seemed like the adventure of a lifetime, and she wasn’t the adventurous type.
Preston didn’t usually give into the whims of decorators who demanded to see him. He preferred to have that work directed by Jay Rohr, one of his vice-presidents. He trusted Jay’s opinion because Preston paid him top dollar. One of the lessons he’d learned at his mother’s knee was, you get what you pay for.
When Jay had asked him to meet with the decorator, he’d been annoyed and had agreed reluctantly. Now he was glad he had. He’d expected her to be demanding and pushy. The bossy kind of woman who had manipulated one of his executives into agreeing to have Jay do something he normally wouldn’t do.
He hadn’t expected to react to her on a male-female level. Every other decorator he’d met at the grand openings of his resorts had been matronly and well coifed. This Lily Stone had a freshness about her that he’d never encountered before. Oh, she was well put together, but there was something about her that didn’t mirror the fashionable ladies he’d met with in the past.
Her long, sexy legs made him think of steamy afternoons in bed. Which was totally out of line for a business meeting. He loved that she kept tugging on the hem of her skirt trying to lengthen it.
When she’d walked into the room, she’d projected professionalism, but it had been laced with a genuine goodness he didn’t normally see in the world of big business. He made a mental note to research her company. Where had she come from?
Her skin when they’d shaken hands had been soft and gentle. They were a lady’s hands, with short practical nails. And he tantalized himself with the imagined feel of her touch on his body. His groin tightened, and he shifted subtly in his big leather chair.
He shouldn’t be reacting to her this way, he reminded himself, but she intrigued him.
His office should have intimidated her. He’d seen savvy business professionals lose their cool when entering his private domain. He’d set it up so he’d have the upper hand during any meeting he conducted there.
But it didn’t affect her. She’d proven tha
t by the way she’d stood up to him. It made him want to test her again.
He liked her backbone and self-confidence. He liked the spark in her blue eyes and the way she’d pushed right back at him. Invading areas of privacy that no one else dared, because he paid their salary and they couldn’t afford to anger him.
But Ms. Stone didn’t seem anxious at all. That fact should have irritated him but didn’t. Probably because he was entranced by her body.
She didn’t have a fashion model’s frame with exaggerated breasts and no hips. Instead she was generously curved, her slim waist accentuated by her suit. Her legs were long and slim encased in black hose, and he wondered how they’d feel wrapped around his waist. What would she do if he asked her to sit on the edge of his desk so that he could stand between those long endless legs and kiss her?
Probably slap him with a sexual harassment suit. And rightly so. But his mind kept supplying images he had no right to be entertaining about this woman.
Her nose was pert and upturned at the end. Her red hair was cut in a short, flattering style that was enchanting with her features. She looked as if she was from another world. One in which he wouldn’t have been comfortable living but one he’d like to visit—with her.
He’d had a physical reaction to her from the moment she’d walked in the room and awkwardly bumped her briefcase against her leg. There was something about her show of nerves that hadn’t been revealed in her voice, posture or conversation, yet had been betrayed by her body.
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