Chapter Eight

Holly stared at Julian’s front door as she tried to psych herself up enough to knock on it.

When she’d arrived at the luxury high-rise, the doorman had been waiting to give her access to the penthouse level of the building. Now she stood in the hall, bags of groceries in her hands, and tried to work up the courage to knock on the door.

He’s just a man. Buck up.

But she wasn’t sure what to make of this evening. A restaurant would have been easier, without a doubt. A public, neutral setting was better for her blood pressure.

The way her father had raged over the location change of tonight’s date, however, had convinced her more than ever that she’d made the right call. She might not be able to save Julian from her father’s scheming, but at least she could shelter him a little bit.

In order to have a date, one must first walk through the door.

She shifted from foot to foot.

Lillian would march in like she owned the place. Channel her.

Except her Lillian facade seemed to falter in Julian’s presence.

You’ve got this. Count down from ten and knock. Ten, nine…

The door opened before she finished.

Julian leaned against the jamb, crossing his arms in front of him. “How long were you going to stay out here?”

Her brain froze. “How do you know I haven’t just arrived?”

“I can hear the ding of the elevator from the living room,” he replied. “Want to come in or should we picnic in the hall?”

“I was just trying to remember something,” she offered as an excuse.

He grinned slowly. “Hope it wasn’t a recipe. I’m certainly no expert, but I think we put the popcorn in the popper and let physics do the rest.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You could pretend you didn’t catch me hesitating.”

“I’ve never enjoyed pretense,” he replied.

She didn’t flinch. Points for her.

“Besides, I think it’s cute.”

Lillian would never stand for someone calling her that.

She rolled back her shoulders. “That’s not what I was going for.”

“Come inside, and I’ll call you gorgeous,” he said without missing a beat.

“How about brilliant, poised, and charming?”

He reached out to catch her arm, drawing her closer. “Yep, definitely all those, too,” he agreed.

When she stepped across the threshold, he leaned closer to brush a kiss over her lips, one arm snaking around her waist to hold her lightly.

“Hello, sweetheart. I’m glad you’re here.”

A shiver raced down her spine, but there was no denying the pleasure pulsing through her.

“Me too,” she said and realized the words weren’t the lie they should have been.

“What have you brought?” he asked, closing the door and taking the bag from her.

“I wasn’t sure what you had, so all the fixings for popcorn.”

“Probably a safe bet. I usually eat at the office.”

“Workaholic.”

“Guilty.”

He guided her through the elegant hall and into a massive kitchen that sported all chrome appliances, a large marble island, and a wide dining room table she doubted got much use.

“Should we pick a movie?” he asked, setting the bag down on the marble counter. “Or would you like a tour?”

“A tour sounds great,” she said.

He closed the distance between them and guided her out of the kitchen with a hand on her lower back.

Don’t think about how close he is.

Except there was no chance of that happening. She was so hyperaware of his presence beside her she barely noticed the home he was trying to show off.

“The master and guest bedrooms are upstairs,” he said as he walked her through the palatial living room. She glanced out the wide windows to the wraparound balcony that seemed to run the length of two sides of the penthouse. If she wasn’t mistaken, there was even a small pool out there, glistening in the light of the setting sun.

Walking down a hall lined with windows, she toured a library, den, and office. Each room was expertly decorated, much the way her own home was. All balanced and beautiful but devoid of any warmth or personality.

Not even his house holds any clues as to who this man is.

“I bought this place when the company made its first million,” he said as they got to the end of the circular hallway to find themselves back in the living room. “It was a far cry from what I’d been used to.”

“And what was that?” she asked.

He glanced at her with a sardonic smile. “You have a file on me. What did it say about my past?”

She swallowed. “Actually, not much before you popped up at business school.”

He arched a brow. “Really? That’s good to know.”

“Why?”

He moved away from her with a sigh. “I suppose now is as good a time as any to have this conversation.”

“What conversation?”

He dropped onto the black leather couch, his eyes trained on her. “You have a right to know who you’re marrying.”

Pain snaked through her. So do you.

She rubbed her chest as if that would remove the phantom sensation that stabbed her every time she wondered about the future.

“Isn’t that the purpose of dating?” she asked, trying to sound light-hearted.

He grinned. “Yeah, but my past is something I’ve tried to forget.”

Gingerly, she sat on the edge of the couch near him. “Everyone has things in their past they’d like to undo.”

She still remembered her sixteenth birthday where she’d tried to flirt with her high school crush only to have him try to extricate himself from the conversation by any means necessary.

The ego was pretty bruised with that one.

“My past impacts my business relationships,” he said. “You know the way things run behind the scenes here. Old money talks. Reputation is everything. Not only am I a self-made man without the family connections you have, I—”

He paused, clearing his throat.

That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him falter.

Sympathy welled within her as she shifted a little closer. “Whatever it is, I won’t judge.”

He smiled. “I was serious when I said I didn’t have parents. I was raised in the foster system. There was a time when I didn’t have two quarters to rub together.”

She blinked. Foster care? This business mogul had literally come from nothing and worked his way from the ground up?

“That’s amazing,” she said.

“Not amazing,” he replied. “I just got lucky. I liked to read, and educating myself was a way out of the hell I was living in.”

Her heart ached for the stubborn kid he would have been. “That bad?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Not always. A couple of homes were fine. Others, not so much.”

She reached out to squeeze his hand. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Figured I owed it to you. If you wanted to marry some other blueblood, I’m not the guy. I might have all the top line toys now, but there’s no erasing my past.”

“Why would you want to?”

“Most people in our world don’t want to be associated with someone who wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth,” he said.

She snorted. “Idiots.”

Who would ever look at Julian and find him lacking?

If there was one thing she’d learned sticking to the sidelines, it was that having the right pedigree didn’t make people kinder. And she’d take having a heart over having the right bloodline any day of the week.

Julian blinked at the word, staring at her with an unreadable expression.

“What?” she asked.

Did I say something wrong? Lillian didn’t like the rigid rules of their world any more than she did. It wasn’t breaking character.

Not that she’d thought of her sister since entering this home, but still.

She opened her mouth to question him further, but then he moved. One hand snaked around the nape of her neck as his lips claimed hers.

Excitement rose the way it always did at his touch. She was smiling like a giddy school girl when he drew back, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

“I think,” he said softly, “that you and I might do very well together.”

She stared up at him. “Just like that?” she murmured.

He smiled. “No, not just like that. You keep surprising me.”

Because I’m not the woman you think I am.

She was lying to a man who made her heart race.

I’m not lying about everything.

Only her name.

Not about the feelings he inspired.

It was a small comfort, but at least it was something. While she might not be able to tell him who she really was, she could at least offer as much honesty as possible. Wetting her lips, she confessed, “You keep surprising me too.”

And it’s screwing with my head.

She didn’t want him to be kind or considerate. She didn’t want her father’s partner to give a damn about others or try to create something from nothing with his own two hands.

She wanted him to be greedy and grasping. A man she wouldn’t bother giving the time of day.

Not one she couldn’t stop thinking about.

…

What was she doing to him?

He wasn’t used to this. Having someone in his home. Telling a woman about his past. And he definitely wasn’t familiar with the warmth that had flowed through him at her clear disgust for the people who had looked down on him his entire life.

What would it be like to go through life with someone like her on my side?

He was used to being alone. His vision against the world. Jason and Ryan had his back, but it was his job to grow the company and tackle the hurdles that came his way.

He’d assumed having a wife would be no different, but Lillian changed everything. She’d never be happy being left behind on the sidelines.

Her gaze slid from his, the way it always did when he stared at her for too long.

One day it won’t, he vowed. There would come a time when he didn’t unsettle her, and for a man who rarely wished for anything, he couldn’t wait for that moment to arrive.

Who the hell am I becoming around her?

Someone he’d never been before, that was for sure. He frowned at the unsettling notion. The changes were small and gradual. A thought about her here, a memory there. Small moments of time that were getting longer and more frequent.

All because of Lillian.

His friends would kill themselves laughing if they knew.

“Let’s get that movie going,” he said.

She smiled, clearly grateful for the distraction. “Sounds good.”

He grabbed the remote from the coffee table and handed it to her. “I’ll make the popcorn; you choose something to watch.”

“Dangerous game. You don’t know my movie tastes yet.”

“I like living on the edge.”

She laughed, turning her attention to the TV. Jogging to the kitchen, he fished out the never used popcorn maker from his cupboard of kitchenware and pulled the jar of kernels from Lillian’s bag. Popcorn took minutes. Tops. But even so, he glanced at his watch, wanting to get back to his fiancée.

She’s getting under my skin.

And as uncomfortable a feeling as it was, he didn’t think there was any way to stop it.

Or even if he wanted to.

He reached in the bag to find the salt, butter, and a few other toppings that he set out on the counter. In no time, he had a big, buttery bowl made and went back to the living room.

Holly was sorting through the choices on screen. “Classic or blockbuster?” she asked.

“Anything where something blows up?”

“Such a guy,” she sighed.

He dropped onto the couch beside her as she made her selection. “I found some parmesan cheese in your bag, so I sprinkled it on top.”

“My favorite,” she said, taking a few pieces and tossing them into her mouth.

He grinned and settled in for the movie. Before the opening credits were even over, he realized the mistake he made.

It should have been easy to relax and enjoy her company. But now that she was here…

Movie watching was not the first thing on his mind.

Focus.

But did he really have to? Maybe he wasn’t the only one who wanted to play a little.

Testing the waters, he did the classic arm-stretch around her.

Holly stopped eating popcorn, her gaze turning to his.

“Just getting comfortable,” he said.

“Uh-huh.” She rolled her eyes. “I fell for Netflix and chill, didn’t I?”

He laughed. “I swear, I had good intentions until I saw you in the hallway.”

“Yes, because men are so often overcome with lust at the mere sight of me.”

“Good. Not just me, then.” He took the popcorn bowl from her hands and set it on the coffee table.

She eyed it for a moment before shifting her gaze back to his.

“I just need one thing before I can concentrate on the movie,” he said. “Can you help me?”

Her lips twitched. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Well, you see,” he said, shifting closer, “I’ve wanted to do something all day.”

“And what’s that?” she breathed.

“This.” He kissed her before he could stop himself.

She smiled against his lips as she wiggled closer. Movie? What movie. This was the first time he’d had the luxury of taking his time, savoring her, and he wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. All their past dates had been public, and it was so damned good to finally have her in his arms.

Too good.

Like something he could get used to.

The impulse was foreign, but it couldn’t compare to the pleasure of having Lillian so close. Her tongue brushed against his as she deepened the kiss. Without thinking, he pulled her over to straddle him, one leg on either side. She pulled back enough for him to meet those gorgeous eyes before a half smile curved her lips. His heart pounded at the sight as she leaned in to kiss him, rolling her body against his.

Fire licked through his veins. He gave his hands permission to glide over her body, wishing he could tear away the clothes that separated them.

God, I want to see her. Touch her. Taste her.

Had he ever wanted anyone else the way he craved her?

His hands slid under her shirt, teasing the smooth skin beneath.

She inhaled against his lips but didn’t protest. Wanting to test his luck, he inched the material higher until she let him tug it over her head.

His gaze zeroed in on her breasts, unable to help himself.

Damn, I’m a lucky man.

He could gratefully stare at those breasts for the rest of his life.

And I will.

Who knew arranged marriages could turn out so well?

Gripping her hips, he tumbled her back onto the couch as she giggled. He kissed her neck, running his lips down the sensitive skin. He loved the way she shivered beneath his touch. He couldn’t help but imagine all the different ways they’d enjoy playing together. Especially when she shifted beneath him to make room between her legs. The position was so close to the one he wished they were in that a growl caught in his throat.

Need pulsed through him, but he forced himself to go slowly. She deserved more than the rough and tumble sex marathon he wanted to indulge in.

He cupped her breasts, loving the feel of them in his hands. Throwing her a wicked grin, he tugged up her bra and caught an exposed nipple in his mouth.

She arched under him, a gasp escaping her.

He loved how responsive she was to every touch, like she was soaking up the attention, reveling in the moment.

And he was more than happy to give her anything she wanted.

Switching to the other breast, he flicked his tongue over the pert nipple.

“Julian,” she breathed.

Yes, always say my name like that.

With her voice rough with need. He loved the way she responded to him, and he wanted more of those heady gasps.

Hell, he just plain wanted more of her.

His hand had slid down to the waistband of her jeans when a bang sounded, the remote control tumbling from the couch.

Beneath him, Lillian froze as they both turned their heads to investigate the noise.

A chuckle escaped her. Then another. Her startled expression gave way to laughter, and he couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t often he got to see her happy and unguarded.

This is the Lillian I wanted to see.

And more and more, she was letting him.

“Moment’s over, I take it,” he said with a chuckle, bracing himself on his forearms.

She cupped his face, still smiling. “Do you mind?”

He groaned, dropping his head onto her shoulder. “No,” he mumbled against her collarbone.

Her fingers threaded through his hair, and his eyes closed at the sensation.

“Sorry, I just—”

He kissed her quick, cutting off her words.

“I told you before, remember?” he reminded her. “Your speed.”

A soft smile tipped her lips. “How are you real?”

Something in his chest tightened. “Just wait,” he teased. “Whenever we do make it to a bed, I’m going to make you scream my name all night long.”

Her cheeks flushed a brighter red than they already were. But her response was anything but shy. “Deal,” she said, meeting his gaze.

Pleasure curled through him.

“Deal.”

Sliding off her, he helped her sit up and handed her the discarded shirt.

As she snuggled up to his side, a curious contentment filled him. Whatever the hell was going on with the merger, he’d sort it out.

Because the woman in his arms was not someone he wanted to lose.