скачать книгу бесплатно
Lucius stared at Naomi’s retreating figure as she went through the revolving doors of the bistro. How had their lunch gone so horribly wrong? He’d been certain he could convince her that Knight International was the next logical step in the evolution of Brooks and Johnson. But not only had he failed at that, he’d also struck a nerve with Naomi when he’d cut down her attempt to open up about his family.
Had he killed any hope that Naomi Brooks would ever give him the time of day again?
* * *
“You won’t believe who was at the conference,” Naomi told Kelsey the next day when she made it back to Long Beach and phoned her friend from her three-bedroom craftsman-style bungalow in Belmont Heights’ historic district.
“Who?” Kelsey asked from the other end of the line.
“Lucius Knight,” Naomi replied, placing the teakettle on the stove.
“Lucius. Now there’s a blast from the past,” Kelsey responded. “You haven’t spoken of him since college, when you told me about the monumental crush you had on him.”
“Yeah, well, that ship has sailed,” Naomi responded, turning on the burner. “He’s not the bad boy of every teenage girl’s fantasy anymore. Instead, he’s a pompous, arrogant, conceited jerk.”
“Wow!” Kelsey laughed. “I’ve never heard you speak that way about someone. He must have really gotten your goat.”
“He did.”
“What happened? Do tell—married women such as myself have to entertain ourselves with sexy single girl stories.”
“Wh-what? There’s no sex in this story.”
“Naomi, chill. I was just kidding. What’s gotten into you?” Kelsey inquired. “Did seeing Lucius again really upset you that much?”
Naomi sighed. “Yes—I mean, no.”
“Which is it?”
“He was just so smug and confident, saying that I’m attracted to him and that we would eventually sleep together.”
Kelsey perked up. “Oh, really? And why would he think that? Did you give him fodder to think he’d have the time of day?”
“No...”
“Hmm...it sounds like you’re not being one hundred with me, Naomi. Give up the goods. What happened between you two?”
“All right, all right. We kissed,” Naomi answered in a rush as she leaned back against the counter to wait for the teakettle to boil. “Are you happy now?”
“I would be if you were happy about it. Was he a terribly bad kisser? You know, the ones that slobber all over you, or their tongue is like a lizard darting in and out of your mouth. I used to hate that when I dated. If a man didn’t know how to kiss, he got the boot.”
Naomi chuckled. “I wish that was the case, but Lucius is far from being a bad kisser. In fact, he’s the best kisser I’ve ever had.”
“Is that a fact?”
“It is. And that’s also why I have to stay away from him.”
“Why? What’s wrong with having a little fun? If his reputation is anything to go by, Lucius knows how to treat—or should I say please—a woman. Perhaps Lucius, with his exceptional expertise, is exactly what you need to light your fire.”
“Kelsey.”
“I’m just being honest. When was your last date? Or relationship?”
“Lucius Knight isn’t interested in a relationship with me. He’s interested in sleeping with me and buying my company, and not necessarily in that order.”
“That’s true.”
Naomi stood upright. “Why are you agreeing? Did something happen while I was away?”
“His attorney Adam Powell came to see me.”
“And why would he do that?” Once the kettle began to whistle, Naomi turned off the burner and poured the boiling water in a teacup.
“To offer me an outrageous sum of money to sell my shares.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“No, of course. I would never do that to you, Naomi, and not to our friendship. I promised you I would take time to think through my decision, and I’m doing just that. No amount of money thrown at me would change that.”
Naomi released the long sigh she’d been holding in. “Thank you, Kels. I guess I just got a little nervous, is all.”
“What I want to know is how would they even know to come to me out of the two of us?”
Naomi rubbed her chin and thought about Kelsey’s questions. “Clearly, they were looking for the weak link, and they think you’re it, given you’re married with a child and another on the way. It’s apparent that Lucius doesn’t play fair and is looking for my Achilles’ heel.”
It was just another thing that Naomi was finding she didn’t like about the man other than his proclivity against family. Or was it marriage and children? Or all of the above?
* * *
Lucius was angry. He’d called and left repeated messages on both Naomi’s cell phone and at her office, and yet she continued to ignore him. He’d thought at the very least he and Naomi had formed a pseudofriendship during the couple of days they’d spent in Anaheim.
On their last day together, he’d tried to show her that if they worked as a team, Brooks and Johnson’s transition into the Knight International brand would be seamless, but Naomi wanted none of it. Or maybe her ire went deeper? Was she upset because he’d come on so strong about their obvious attraction? Was this her way of telling him to take a hike? If so, she was wrong on that score.
Lucius never gave up on something he wanted. He wanted Naomi. And her company.
Since returning from Anaheim nearly a week ago, he’d dived back into work full force, trying to erase the memory of the curly-haired beauty from his mind, but he couldn’t. He would daydream about what it had been like to kiss her in that elevator, and his dreams went farther into what would have happened if that door had never opened.
He imagined taking Naomi against the wall. He’d have stripped her of any clothes, spread her legs and licked her until she begged him to make love to her. Only then would he have pushed down his jeans and plunged deep inside her wet heat. He knew she’d been wet for him. The way she’d squirmed in his arms had told him exactly what he’d needed to know. Naomi was as hot for him as he was for her.
He just had to get the woman to admit it.
She was as stubborn as a mule, and this last week had proved so. But he wasn’t going to take this lying down. He was going to make Naomi acknowledge that not only was Brooks and Johnson a good fit for his brand, but more importantly, Naomi was a good fit for him.
Chapter 5 (#u7fa79598-b083-56f1-8de7-c5944e8e9616)
Naomi called it quits. It had been a long day. A late one, actually—she’d stayed well past 6:00 p.m. But it had been worth it. Today’s think tank meeting had yielded some great ideas for the product line.
She waved at the security guard manning the entrance to the building as she made her way outside. One of the perks of having her own company was she got a prime parking space right outside the building rather than having to use the parking garage in the rear.
Naomi pushed open the glass door and breathed in the cool night air. She quickly buttoned up her peacoat and glanced up at the sky. Fall was here, and it felt good.
Or at least so she thought, until her gaze lowered and she saw Lucius standing outside a limousine several feet away.
“Join me for dinner?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Lucius.” Naomi started toward her Audi A5 coupe that was parked several feet away, but Lucius rose from where he’d been leaning and blocked her path.
“Please.”
Naomi was sure Lucius never used that word often. He was used to issuing commands and people followed them, but he wasn’t doing that now. Her head told her to keep walking, but instead, she walked toward the limousine. Lucius reached across and opened the door, and Naomi climbed inside. She scooted onto the plush leather passenger cushions. The limo was well furnished, but then again, this was how the rich and famous lived, right?
Lucius slid in beside her, and when he did, Naomi swallowed tightly and her pulse skittered alarmingly at being so close to Lucius. “And where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” Lucius said. “Just sit back and relax.” He pressed on the intercom button and said to the driver, “You know the destination.”
* * *
Lucius didn’t like that Naomi was uneasy around him. Her guard was up and he wanted to get through to her, get her to see that he had a solid plan for Brooks and Johnson. An added benefit would be her becoming putty in his hands when he seduced her.
He did not, however, like the look of fear in her eyes, and so he engaged her in conversation. “You can stop fearing for your safety, Naomi. I won’t harm you.”
He watched her shoulders visibly sag. “I wanted to speak with you, but you didn’t really give me much choice since you’ve ignored my calls.
“Perhaps there was nothing you had to say that I would be interested in.”
“Ah.” His index finger circled her face. “There’s the feisty Naomi I know and like.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.”
“No?” Lucius said. “Let’s see if that holds true at the end of the night.”
“You think you’ll make it that long?”
“Until you’ve listened again to my pitch. After that—” he shrugged “—I’m going to guess that you won’t want to.”
Naomi folded her arms across her chest. “You don’t know that.”
“I know that you’re curious as to why I contacted you and why I waited for you tonight.”
“You waited for me?” Naomi’s brow furrowed.
Lucius didn’t speak, he just let Naomi marinate on that thought while he reached for the bottle of champagne that was chilling in the bucket beside him. “An aperitif?”
“I suppose. I’m not much of a drinker. So why is it I only seem to drink around you?”
“Perhaps it’s a way for you to release your inhibitions.”
That comment brought a frown from Naomi, and she turned to silently stare out the window while Lucius uncorked and poured each of them a glass of champagne. “Here.” He held out the flute to her. She accepted but didn’t look at him.
“Naomi, this night will turn out far better if you perhaps acknowledge that you don’t dislike me as much as you protest.”
Her head spun around, and she glared at him underneath mascara-coated lashes. He noticed that she had more makeup on than he’d seen her wear on prior occasions. She was more put together, in a black and tweed dress that reached her knees and black pumps. Lucius didn’t like this stuffy Naomi. He much preferred the natural, more organic Naomi, who was more comfortable in jeans and a tank top.
She finally spoke. “I—I don’t dislike you.”
“What then?”
“As I said before, you’re arrogant, but I also find you untrustworthy and unscrupulous.”
“Unscrupulous? That’s a strong word.”
“Did you or did you not send your attorney to speak with my partner, Kelsey, while I was in Anaheim so you could double-team us?”
Lucius sipped his champagne. So she knew about that? No wonder she’d ignored his calls.
“Are you going to deny it?” she asked when he didn’t answer.
“No, that would be dishonest,” he responded curtly.
“Which proves my point.” Naomi took another gulp of champagne. “I can’t trust you.”
He turned to face her. “Do you want to?”
“Wh-what?”
“You heard the question. Why does my behavior bother you so, Naomi?” His steady gaze bored into her in silent expectation.
“I don’t care one way or the other.”
“Who’s lying now?” he asked quietly.
She stared wordlessly at him, and Lucius knew it was time to tell her the truth. “C’mon, Naomi, did you really think I’m that callous that I don’t remember the awkward fifteen-year-old girl that used to follow me around in high school?”
Naomi’s entire face flushed, and he could see he’d hit the nail on the head. She had remembered him. She gulped down the remainder of her champagne.
“So you know who I am.” She set her empty flute in the cup holder. “What of it?”
“So I know that you used to harbor a schoolgirl crush on me way back when. And I know that I thought you could be cute if you’d just take off those stupid glasses, get some better facial products, do something with your hair and stop trying to hide your figure. It seems I was right on all fronts.”
Naomi sucked in a sharp breath. He could see he’d embarrassed her, but he wasn’t above using sentimentality to get his way. He leaned back slightly so he could assess her frankly. “Your skin is clear, which I’m sure is due to Brooks and Johnson products. You wear contacts now, and your hair, well—” he reached out to finger several tendrils “—natural looks good on you. And as for the figure...” His gaze lazily roved over her entire body. “I like everything I see.”
“I’m so glad you approve,” Naomi replied flippantly.
“Don’t be upset.” Lucius scooted closer to Naomi, and this time she didn’t move away from him. “It was a compliment.” He stroked the soft skin of her cheek. “You’ve turned into a beautiful woman. A woman I am very much attracted to.”
His gaze immediately went to her lips. Lips he wanted to kiss. Had been craving to kiss since the elevator in Anaheim. He glanced upward to her neck and could see her pulse quickening. Gone was the embarrassment of a moment ago, and in its place he could feel the electricity he’d felt since they’d met.
He bent his head and claimed her lips. He kissed her nice and slow so she didn’t push him away. He needed her to acquiesce. At first she remained still, but as his mouth covered hers hungrily, Naomi gave up the pretense she didn’t want him and her arms snaked around his neck.
