Taming the Bad Boy Billionaire Bundle

by Sierra Rose

  GINA CALLED OFF SICK, so Paige was asked to sit in and take some notes on the project her and Gina had been working on. She was excited to get called into a meeting Luke was running. She had longed to see him in action. And she wasn’t disappointed, that was for sure.

  The second he began to speak, everyone paid attention. Paige was completely impressed by the way Luke handled and ran the meeting. The room fell absolutely silent, all eyes on him, as he gave his presentation. Raising his hands at all the appropriate times, delivering the pros and cons with a thoughtful look of concern, even pursing his lips with that perfect ‘professional frown’ as he paused for questions. No doubt about it, he was a star.

  She loved his passion, full-commitment, and energy. His plans and ideas were ingenious, and he was so driven and determined. He spoke with passion, confidence, and conviction, inspiring every single one of them. She admired his cool, confident persona. There wasn’t a better man for the job. And she could see how much everyone adored and respected him. She was sure Luke gave the performance of a lifetime.

  Luke looked like a playful demi-god just looking for something or someone to do. He was striking. Everything about him screamed ‘control.’ From the way he dressed to the way he combed his hair, to the strict way he held his face—with a tension that made him seem years older than he was. And she was captivated by his pretty eyes. But even they were such a piercing shade that they made you think twice.

  No doubt about it, Luke was absurdly attractive.

  Absurdly, devastatingly attractive.

  Paige blinked quickly to recover herself as she struggled to meet his gaze. He had been staring at her a bit too long, eyes tracing and re-tracing her face. Then all at once, his face lit up, and a sparkle gleamed deep in his eyes. Her heart sank in her chest. There was so much inherent tension between them. But they had to play it cool and not let anyone know there was something hot simmering between them.

  Was this just their little secret? Because nobody seemed to notice. Just her. It almost seemed that she was the only one in the room. They had to be careful, if anyone suspected anything, the rumors would spread like wildfire.

  The meeting continued, and watching Luke in action was exhilarating. He stood in front of a display board showing off his presentation. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, a breathtaking view behind him. He was so swab and debonair in his black, designer suit and blue tie.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She kept it professional at this meeting, but she was having dreams about wanting to rip off his clothes after work tonight. There was nothing like a hot, steamy office fling. She wasn’t even sure where they stood exactly. But she knew one thing. By pursuing this relationship, Luke was an absolute risk to her heart and her career. She still dove right in. She just hoped she didn’t get burned by the flames of passion.

  Paige grinned as she left the boardroom. Maybe it was the thrill of getting caught. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush. Maybe it was because they were both just plain crazy. Or maybe it was because they had crazy chemistry and couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

  When they secretly met in the stairwell, he smashed her up against the wall, hiking up her dress and hitching her leg around his waist as his lips found hers. His mouth explored hers, his tongue dancing around hers in perfect harmony. He devoured her with a kiss so deep...that she swore she was seeing fireworks. She fought to stay in control but she couldn’t help but let herself go.

  She was consumed by every thrust of his tongue. Tasting him like this felt so natural, so damn right. She tangled her hands through his carefully combed hair and wrapped her other leg around him. Heat shot through her as his lips traveled down her neck.

  She was so caught up that she couldn’t remember all the reasons why this was so wrong. She hadn’t been kissed with such intensity or passion in a long time. And as much as she was enjoying this amazing kiss, she snapped back to reality. She was playing with fire. She was playing with her career. She could be fired for this kind of behavior. What was she thinking?

  “We can’t do this,” she said, gasping for breath.

  His fingers trailed through her hair. “Why not?”

  He pressed his lips against her mouth and they started kissing once again. His kiss was hungry, hot as hell, demanding, and intense.

  She moaned as his tongue slid down her neck. “You know why.”

  It was almost impossible to break off the addictive kiss, but she broke away.

  “We can’t,” Paige said. “You know this will change everything. I’m madly attracted to you. I am. And I want to keep going...desperately. But I know we can’t.”

  She could feel him hardening beneath her, but before things could go any further, they both abruptly stopped.

  “I’m sorry,” he panted, “I’m sorry.”

  She tried to catch her breath. “No, it’s okay. It’s just—”

  “We can’t,” he finished. “I know we can’t.”

  He took the words right out of her mouth, but she suddenly realized that she didn’t want to hear him say them, any more than she wanted him to stop. She wanted them to be right back up against the wall, picking up where they left off.

  One look in his eyes told her he was thinking the same thing. But he restrained himself, summoning a strength of will instilled by years of professionalism.

  He stared at her hungrily once more, before turning his back and opening the door from the stairwell. “I’m sorry again—I never should have done that.”

  “Don’t worry,” she tried to reassure him as she followed him inside. “We’ll just forget it. It’ll be like it never happened.”

  But as she started to walk away, she felt suddenly certain.

  There was no way in hell she could ever forget...

  Chapter 9

  FOR WEEKS, THE REASON she sprang off the couch before her alarm went off, the bubbly energy coursing through her was all from the excitement of seeing Luke, of running into him and exchanging a few words. How long could they manage to flirt at work under the radar?

  They tried to fight it, they did. But it was like destiny had other plans that neither could ignore.

  Flirting with him, brushing his hand with hers or bumping in to him on the stairs. They found a way almost daily to run into each other, to encounter one another by pure coincidence—or by design. Once it was at Starbuck’s down the street. He’d been behind her in line. Paige had thought she smelled his cologne. So, she held up her phone and saw his reflection in the screen. He’d laid a hand on her shoulder then, squeezed once as if he were about to give her a massage, about to release all the tension built up in those muscles. Then he’d released her.

  It had been a decidedly sexy shoulder squeeze, if such things could be rated. She’d let her cappuccino go cold at her desk as she stared at the screen blankly, reliving the moments in line again and again, the familiarity and possessiveness of that hand heavy and large on her shoulder. He had paid for her coffee—insisted on it, and she’d turned to say thank you to him. He’d given a smile, the sort of obligatory polite smile that had nothing to do with happiness.

  “You look even grumpier when you try that fake smile,” she’d whispered, and had gotten a real smile of amusement from him as her reward.

  Paige could think of little else but seeing him. It was, she couldn’t help but think, like sitting in algebra waiting for your crush to walk in so you could stare at the back of his head for an hour until the bell rang. Only she was an adult with real responsibilities now.

  She put in long hours at work to make sure she didn’t slack off on her workload due to distraction. Between worrying about Paxtyn and imagining Luke Conners kissing her, Paige didn’t have a lot of extra brainpower to use on her job. It didn’t hurt that she thought every night she stayed late that it might be the time Luke put in extra hours as well. That she might run into him at a vending machine or in the elevator. A lot of her stray and unproductive thoughts had to do with the elevators at th
e Conners building these days.

  She heated up her ramen noodles in the staff lounge microwave, half hoping to see him there. Not that he’d ever venture down this many floors, just to use a microwave that stank of someone’s fish dinner from three days ago, she reasoned. Except a great deal of what he did to encounter her didn’t make logical sense. Maybe he just would, maybe he’d come down here anyway.

  She waved goodbye to the only other worker still busy on her floor in answer to the woman’s call of ‘goodnight.’ She would settle in now with her noodles and finesse the VP’s schedule so there would be time in the week for the conference call that was just rescheduled for next Wednesday.

  On the way back to her desk, Paige nearly collided with Luke. As it was, she stopped suddenly, sloshing hot broth down her hand and splashing it onto his jacket.

  “Shit,” she muttered, licking the hand where it burned from the searing, salty broth.

  “Are you all right?” he said.

  “I’m fine. Just clumsy I guess. But you came out of nowhere.”

  “The elevator. I came from the elevator. I thought you might do me the favor of looking at my schedule for the coming week to see if there’s anything to be done about freeing up one evening.”

  “Which one?” she said. “Because I can sure use the overtime.”

  “Any one that you’re free,” he said.

  “You want me to log into Gina’s computer and mess with your schedule so you can spend time trying to talk me into marrying you?” she whispered incredulously.

  “Exactly. Now keep your voice down. There could be other people working beside us.”

  She followed him to the elevator bank. When the doors opened, she shied away, took a step back.

  “I could use the exercise. I’ll take the stairs and meet you on the top floor,” she said not trusting herself alone in an elevator with him.

  When she swung open the door to the stairwell and realized it was going to be more than twenty flights to reach his level, she shook her head. If only she could trust herself to stay strong and not flirt with or kiss the chief executive of the entire company.

  Grimly, she climbed the stairs, hurrying at first, then pacing herself for the long climb. About eight flights in, she regretted her choice to take the stairs. She stepped out on to that floor and went to the elevators. Surely, he was in his office by now, and she could take an empty elevator up to the executive level. She pressed the button, and the doors opened. There he was in the elevator car alone.

  “How are you still riding the elevator?” she demanded, holding the stitch in her side from climbing.

  “I knew you’d give up sooner or later and didn’t want to miss my chance.”

  “Ugh. I’ll just go back to climbing.”

  “Hey, I promise I’ll be on my best behavior, Paige,” he said, “Get in the elevator.”

  He stepped aside for her to enter. Then they reached for the button at the same time, and their hands touched. She yanked her hand back, stared at it like it had betrayed her. He pressed the button for the top floor and stood back. The car lifted. She stared straight ahead and waited for the doors to open. Every part of her was aware of him, of how near he stood, of the confines of the elevator and what they’d nearly done the last time they were in such a spot together.

  He’d smelled of his cologne, something like wool and leather and spices. It had washed over her, playing with her senses. She remembered the exact electric, breathless second when she realized he was going to kiss her. The way he’d lowered his face to hers, commanding and irresistible. She recalled the heat of him and how he seemed to fill up the entire space inside the elevator.

  She also recalled how she’d reached for him, not stepping back or cowering away, but meeting him desire for desire. It was for the best that they’d been interrupted that one time. No good could come from anything like that sort of involvement between them. But the flirting didn’t stop. Subtle bursts of affection such as a simple swipe of the arm, flirty conversations, a bashful smile, or a lingering hug continued. They kept it innocent and light. And Paige was definitely intrigued. Was that little spark turning into something more?

  She exited the elevator as soon as the doors opened and went directly to Gina’s office to tap in the password. Bringing up the calendar she observed, “You’re the least busy on Tuesday night. If you’re serious about clearing out a block of time, will an hour be enough?”

  “An hour? Hardly. Make it four or five hours.”

  “For dinner? It takes me less than half an hour to eat a salad.”

  “I had thought to take you somewhere nicer than the salad bar at the grocery store,” he said. “If you’ll go out with me Tuesday, clear the schedule from five on.”

  “On till when?”

  “Wednesday,” he said.

  She laughed. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

  “Very well. It’s likely we’ll spend more than an hour together anyhow. Just reschedule anything that has to be canceled.”

  “Why can’t you do this?”

  “It’s rather like the nations where one can’t have one’s head higher than the king’s. If I did my own scheduling at my secretary’s office, I would lose dignity. No one would respect my authority at the corporation any longer.”

  “The board would strip you of your title, and you’d lose your pension?” she smirked.

  “Exactly. I have to retain my elitist appearance. It must not be said that I attend to my own menial tasks.”

  “No, you just ask employees for dates and then make us adjust your schedule accordingly. Do I need to make dinner reservations too? Brush your teeth for you?” she teased.

  “No, I’m sure Gina can take care of that during business hours.”

  “Do you make her brush your teeth?”

  “No. Certainly not. I have a separate assistant to take care of my dry cleaning and dental hygiene needs,” he said with a playful gleam in his gorgeous eyes.

  “Remind me not to apply for any openings on this floor. I might end up flossing your teeth or trimming your toenails,” she said dryly as she shuffled scheduled events into other time slots.

  “Now tell me where you’ve always wanted to go in the city. I’ll make it happen. There’s no club I can’t get into, no restaurant whose waiting list won’t bump me to the top.”

  “That does sound impressive. But how about something more simple?”

  “What? I am offering to spread this city at your feet. What would you like to do?”

  “We could go for Thai food. I love noodles.”

  “That’s it? This great city awaits, and you want a bowl of noodles?”

  “Hey, you offer me anything I want, you don’t get to judge me. I could always change my mind and say I want to go to McDonald’s drive-thru.”

  That’s just embarrassing. Stop before I make you restore all my Tuesday evening events to their original scheduled times in disgust.”

  “You wouldn’t dare. I’d refuse to reschedule, and you’d be stuck here glaring at the computer with no one to work it for you.”

  “I know perfectly well how to use the scheduling interface.”

  “I know, your majesty, you just think it’s beneath you! So, I’ve got you hemmed in here. Tuesday your time is mine. Noodles. Maybe an old samurai film if I can drag you to a revival house. Don’t wear a tuxedo or something fancy. I’m wearing jeans.”

  “Will you wear the flats I sent you?”

  “Only if you won’t be bizarre about my feet and keep looking at them. Like you are now.”

  “You’re not even wearing them now,” he protested.

  “Which you know BECAUSE you’ve been staring at my feet,” she laughed.

  “Would you like me to send a car for you? Where do you live?”

  “Like you don’t have my HR file, stalker,” she said, “I’ll just meet you at the restaurant when you tell me where.”

  “I suppose I can have Gina message you the arrangements.”
r />   “Right. Because if you made reservations, your crown would slip off.”

  “There are a great many things you might slip off of me, and a number of your garments that would look better on my floor.”

  “Stop. I’m going on one date with you. The idea is to demonstrate to you that we are not two people who should get engaged. Or have any kind of physical contact.”

  “The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I’ve generously had sex with many women without expecting them to marry me.”

  “That is very progressive of you. I’m not the one to make an honest man of you, Luke. I’m not even sure why you’d want me instead of someone else.”

  “I’ve attempted to explain it to you previously. You’re entertaining. You make me laugh. You don’t bore me.”

  “What exactly do you find boring?”

  “Keto diets. Juicing. Going gluten-free. Women—well, anyone, actually, who feels the need to talk about what they will and will not eat. Also, pictures of people’s food. Food obsession of any sort is a millennial tic as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Says the guy who’s probably too old to identify as millennial and gets annoyed with the young whippersnappers!” she said, “Do it, shake your fist and say ‘get off my lawn!’” She laughed.

  “Fine. I’m old and grouchy. At least you’re not showing me what your cauliflower pizza crust looks like. And saying things like hashtag-goals!”

  “People say hashtag? Who are these people you spend time with? My friends don’t say hashtag.”

  “How old are you?”

  “You totally have my HR file. It’s not like you don’t know.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Fine. June 4, 1985.”

  “You’re one of them. Born in the eighties.”

  “What were you? Born in ‘79?”

  “Yes.”

  “So that makes you, what? An elder statesman? Wait—did you graduate business school with Trump?”

  “Shut up and get off my lawn,” he said.

  “You’re hysterical. I could kiss you,” she giggled.