Secrets In The Boardroom: A Perfect Husband / The Boss's Secret Mistress / Between the CEO's Sheets

With a stifled groan, he wrapped her close. Half lifting her, he walked her backward across the sitting room. Somewhere in the distance, Lilah registered the phone ringing, then they were in his room. The back of her knees hit the edge of his bed.

He came down beside her. Conscious thought evaporated as his mouth reclaimed hers. Long minutes later, he rolled and pulled her on top of him, his fingers tangling in her hair. Charmed and utterly seduced by the clear invitation to play, to kiss him back, she framed his face and lowered her mouth to his.

His palms smoothed down the curve of her spine, pressing her against him so that she was intimately aware of every curve and plane of heated muscle, the firm shape of his arousal. On the upward journey, he peeled her camisole up until he met the barrier of her bra.

Murmuring something short and soft beneath his breath, he fumbled at the fastening then shifted his hands around to cup her breasts.

The distinctive sound of the front door opening cut through the dizzying haze. Elena, dressed in a shimmering, ankle-length black dress and looking like a sleek well-fed raven in spectacles, appeared in the doorway to Zane’s room.

Zane muttered something short beneath his breath and rolled over in an attempt to shield Lilah from his assistant’s view.

Cheeks flushed, Lilah dragged her camisole back into place.

Elena dragged her fascinated gaze from Zane’s chest and seemed to remember herself. She checked the dainty watch on her wrist and addressed Zane in rapid Medinian.

Zane rose to his feet and pulled on a shirt that was draped over a nearby chair. “English, please, Elena.”

“The car is ready. Gemma, your, uh, date—” she directed an apologetic glance at Lilah “—is waiting. Providing we reach the museum in the next twenty minutes, we won’t be late.”

Gemma. Lilah jackknifed. She was Zane’s previous personal assistant and the pretty redhead he had escorted to almost every function the charity had held over the last two years.

Hurt shimmered through her. Above all the gorgeous girls Zane had dated, Gemma reigned supreme. Zane always went back to her. If Lilah had been tempted to fantasize about any kind of a future with Zane, this was exactly the wake-up call she needed.

A second salient fact registered. The museum. And an auction of a private art collection that had been donated to the charity.

Somehow in the craziness of the past few days, she had forgotten she was supposed to attend. Frantically, she checked her wristwatch.

She should have been dressed by now and calling a taxi.

Another thought occurred to her. “Howard.”

Zane’s head snapped around as he shrugged into a shirt. He gave her a questioning look.

“My date.” She scrambled off the bed. She was supposed to be meeting Howard outside the museum in fifteen minutes.

She dashed into her room, snatched an uncrushable cream dress off its hanger, dressed and fixed her hair. She slipped into cream heels and applied a quick dash of mascara and lip-gloss, a spray of her favorite perfume and she was ready.

Picking up her clutch, she joined Zane and Elena. The venue wasn’t far away, but there was no way she would make her rendezvous with Howard in time. To compound matters, this was a first date recommended by the online dating agency she had started using just weeks ago. She had never physically met Howard. All she knew was that he had ticked all the boxes in terms of her requirements in a husband.

Now that Lucas was history, Howard was number one on her list of eligible bachelors and her most likely prospect for marriage.

She dragged her gaze from the riveting sight of Zane in a black tuxedo, and tried to gloss over the fact that she had just climbed out of his bed and was now going to meet a prospective husband. “I need a lift to the museum.”

Lilah was five minutes late.

Howard White was waiting in the appointed place in the museum foyer, although at first she had difficulty picking him out because he was older than the photograph he had supplied. Mid-forties, she guessed, rather than the age of thirty-two, which he had given.

Flustered and ashamed at herself for her loss of control with Zane, and for forgetting she was even meeting Howard, Lilah resolved to overlook his dishonesty.

Howard smiled pleasantly as they shook hands. “I feel like I know you already.”

Guilt burned through her as Howard continued to study her in a way that was just a little too familiar for comfort.

Her picture had been splashed across the tabloids. Her only hope now was that he wouldn’t put two and two together when he saw Zane. She would have to do her best to make sure that they were not seen together.

As he released her hand, she couldn’t help but notice that he had a pale strip across the third finger of his left hand, which seemed to indicate that Howard had been recently married.

The evening progressed at a snail’s pace.

Burningly aware of Zane just a short distance away with Gemma clinging on his arm, Lilah found it hard to focus on Howard and his accounting business.

Howard placed his empty mineral water on a nearby side table and beckoned a passing waiter. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like some champagne?”

“No. Thank you.” Lilah was beginning to get a little annoyed at the pressure Howard was applying with regard to alcohol, especially when he had not touched anything alcoholic himself.

“Very sensible.” He put his wallet away.

She tried to think of something else to say, but the conversation had staggered to a halt.

Howard jerked at his collar as if it was too tight. “My—uh, mother doesn’t agree with alcohol, especially not for women.”

Lilah dragged her gaze from Zane’s profile. She had barely paid Howard any attention, but all of her Cole instincts were on high alert. She had received the strong impression that Howard had been about to say “wife.” “Your mother?”

Howard’s gaze shifted to the auctioneer, who was just setting up. He dragged at his tie as if he was having trouble breathing. “I live with my, uh, mother. She’s a fine woman.”

Feeling suddenly wary of Howard, Lilah excused herself on the grounds that she needed some fresh air before the auction started.

She stepped outside onto a small paved terrace dotted with modern sculpture. A footfall sounded behind her. Zane. Light slanted across his cheekbones, making him look even tougher and edgier.

She had been aware that he had been keeping an eye on her the entire time and had hoped he would follow her.

He jerked his head in the direction of the crowded room. “When did you meet him?”

“Tonight.”

His expression was incredulous. “A blind date?”

She stared at the soaring, shadowy shape of a concrete obelisk, as if the outline was riveting. “More or less.”

It was none of Zane’s business that Howard had contacted her through her online dating service. His application was very recent. It had appeared in her in-box just before she had gone to Medinos. She had felt raw enough on her return that she had agreed to her first actual date.

“I don’t like him, and you’re not leaving with him.” There was a vibrating pause. “He’s old enough to be your father.”

There was an oddly accusing note to Zane’s voice. Lilah stared hard at a tortured arrangement of pipes at the center of the small courtyard, a piece of art that, according to a plaque, had something to do with the inner-city “vibe.” “He is older than I thought.”

She rubbed her bare arms against the coolness of the night, suddenly desperate to change the subject. “Where’s Gemma?”

“Gemma won’t miss me for a few minutes. Is that why you dated Lucas, because he was older?”

Her gaze connected with Zane’s. She didn’t know why he was so stuck on the issue of age. “I don’t see what this has to do with anything.”

“I’ve read your personnel file. I know how old you are, I also know that you seem to date older men. Is that a requirement for your future husband?”

Despite the chilly air it was suddenly way too hot. She tried to whip up some outrage that Zane had accessed her personal information, but the implications of his prying were riveting. She couldn’t think of any reason for Zane to focus on the age of her dates unless it affected him personally. The thought that Zane was comparing himself with her dates and that he was actually worried that he was too young, was dizzying. “No.”

Something like relief flickered in his gaze. “Good.”

His fingers linked with hers, drew her close.

Lilah swallowed against the sudden dryness in her mouth. After the disaster on Medinos followed by the deadening effect of Howard’s company, Zane’s interest in her was fatally seductive. “This is a bad idea. You’re with someone else.”

In theory so was she, but Howard, with his sneaky lies and deceptions, had ceased to count.

“Gemma works for The Atraeus Group. She just helps me out on occasion.”

Zane’s head dipped, his breath wafted over her cheek, and suddenly, irresistibly, they were back where they’d been less than two hours ago—on the verge of … something.

His lips touched hers. Heat shivered through her, she lifted up on her toes. Her palms automatically slid over his shoulders, fingers digging into pliant muscle. His hands closed on her waist.

The sound of the auctioneer taking bids flowed out into the night, but even that faded as she stepped closer, angled her chin and leaned into the kiss.

Something shifted in the shadows, flashed. Zane’s head jerked up.

A second shadow flickered. A night security officer with a flashlight in one hand nodded as he walked past.

Confused, Lilah stepped back from Zane. For a moment she was certain someone had used a camera flash. She couldn’t stop the gossip and the sensationalized stories, but that didn’t mean she had to like the sneakiness of the reporters. “I’d better go back inside. Howard will be missing me.”

Zane was still watching the shadowy figure of the security officer as he stepped into a concealed side entrance. “Are you serious about him?”

“Not anymore.” Feeling a wrenching regret at leaving the courtyard, Lilah made her way back into the crowded room.

Howard was still engrossed in conversation with a knot of older men. He didn’t bother to look her way. Lilah decided that Zane was right; he looked depressingly paternal.

Zane fell into step beside her. His fingers closed on hers.

Pleasure and guilty heat shooting through her, Lilah jerked her fingers free. Zane’s teasing grin made her heart pound. She resisted the almost overpowering urge to smile back. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The wicked grin faded. “Something I should have done before, checking out your date. I want to make sure Howard doesn’t have an agenda.”

“He does. I realized tonight that he’s married.”

Zane’s expression went from irritated to remote as he slid his cell out of his pocket and spoke briefly into it.

He snapped the phone closed. “Go to the car with Gemma and Elena. Spiros has just pulled up to the curb outside. I’ll deal with Howard. Your boyfriend was also out in the courtyard with a phone camera.”

Lilah stared at Howard who she noticed, was now knocking back something that looked extremely alcoholic. She remembered the shuffling sound, the extra flash.

Zane inserted himself into the jovial male group with the confidence and ease that came from being a supreme predator in the business world. She saw the moment Howard realized he had been made, the automatic reach for his pocket as if he wanted to shield his cell phone.

Howard’s wild gaze connected briefly with hers. With calm deliberation, Lilah turned her back on Howard and walked through to the museum lobby. She noted that she didn’t feel in the least shocked or depressed by the betrayal. On the contrary, there had been something highly satisfying in watching Zane go into battle for her. Unfortunately, along with her new ruthless streak, she seemed to have also gotten used to leading a life of notoriety.

Gemma and Elena strolled out directly behind her. Spiros held the door for them while they climbed into the limousine. Elena chatted with Spiros in Medinian, leaving Lilah with a clearly unhappy Gemma.

Seconds later Zane joined them. Gemma beamed and patted the vacant space beside her. Instead of climbing in, Zane glanced across at a group of boys Lilah had noticed loitering a small distance away from the limo.

He glanced at Lilah. “I won’t be long.”

Gemma, looking distinctly irritable as Zane walked over to the boys, extracted a cell from her clutch and within seconds was deep in conversation about her new job and a move overseas. Elena retrieved a romance novel from her clutch, attached an efficient looking little LED light to the back pages, and was promptly engrossed.

Lilah decided she clearly hadn’t lived, because she hadn’t thought to bring an activity with her that was suitable for downtime in a limousine. Absently, she noted Howard slinking off to his car, which turned out to be a sleek little hatchback with a personalized licence plate that read “HERS.”

Zane terminated a cell phone conversation as he walked back to the car. “I can’t come back to the hotel with you right now. I have to take care of these kids. They saw the posters for the charity auction—that’s why they came.”

Lilah stared across at the lean wraiths clustered around a park bench as if that small landmark was all they had. “What can you do?”

“Get them in a house for the night with state foster care. That doesn’t guarantee they’ll stay, but at least it’s a start. I’ll see you later.”

Lilah watched as Zane walked back to the kids, seeing the instant brightening of their faces. She hadn’t realized how personally involved he was, or how much kids liked him.

She felt like she was seeing him for the first time, not the quintessential bad boy or the exciting, elusive lover the media liked to publicize, but a committed, protective man who would make an excellent father.

With the rest of the night in Zane’s hotel suite looming, it was not a good time to discover that Zane had somehow managed to transcend the list of attributes she was searching for in a husband and had made her requirements seem petty and flawed.

Eight

Lilah’s cell phone rang as she stepped in the door of the suite. It was Zane. She remembered that she had given him her number earlier.

“Stay in my room. I won’t be late.”

She stiffened at the invitation, as if Zane was already so sure of her he assumed she would be sleeping with him. “No.”

There was a hollow pause. “Why not?”

“For a start, you already have a girlfriend.”

“Gemma is not my girlfriend. Like I said, she’s a company employee and she fills in as my escort on occasion. Tonight’s date was organized a few weeks ago. I would have canceled if I’d had time.”

Lilah’s fingers tightened on the phone. “I know this might sound silly to you, but I made a certain … vow. I might have forgotten it for a few minutes this afternoon, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s important to me.”

There was a ringing silence, punctuated by raised voices in the background.

“I have to go,” Zane said curtly. “Whatever you do, don’t leave the suite. Spiros will be out in the corridor if you need anything. And don’t use the hotel phone. It’s not secure and the press are still camped in the foyer.”

The phone clicked quietly in her ear.

Feeling suddenly flat and a little depressed, Lilah walked through to her room and showered in the opulent marble bathroom, which not only contained a large walk-in shower, but a sunken spa tub. After slipping on a silk chemise, she belted one of the fluffy hotel robes around her waist and walked back out to the kitchen.

She found a bowl of fruit and a basket of fresh rolls on the counter. The fridge was groaning with food.

Abruptly starving, because she had been too wound up to eat anything but a few canapés from the buffet at the auction, Lilah helped herself to bread and cheese and a selection of mouthwatering dishes from the fridge. To balance out the decadence, she made herself a cup of tea.

Loading her snack onto a small tray, she carried it through to the sitting room and set it down on an elegant coffee table. She flicked through TV channels until she found a local news station.

Wrong choice. She stared at the live footage of Zane with Gemma at some point during the charity auction that evening. Her arm was coiled snugly around his. Young and fresh, with an ultrasexy fuchsia gown, Gemma was the perfect foil for Zane’s dark, powerful build.

Suddenly miserable, she flicked to another channel and stared blankly at an old black-and-white movie. At eleven o’clock, she turned the TV set off. Too restless to sleep and worried that her apartment might have been broken into, she decided to call Evan and check if he had managed to fix the window. She retrieved her cell from her handbag and discovered the battery was dead. In her hurry to pack, she had not included her cell phone charger.

She spent another half hour kicking her heels. Her irritation at her isolation in the fabulous suite was edged by the dreaded notion that maybe Zane hadn’t yet returned because he was now with Gemma.

It wasn’t as if she had a claim on Zane, or should want to make one. Despite the attraction that sizzled between them, the crazy, inappropriate sense of attachment, Zane Atraeus did not fit into her life.

The one area in which they were in complete harmony was the most dangerous part of their relationship. No matter how tempted she was to fall into bed with Zane, she couldn’t forget that sex had gotten her mother and her grandmother into trouble, literally.

At eleven-thirty, she retreated to her bedroom, climbed into the Hollywood fantasy of a bed and tried to sleep.

At midnight, tired of tossing and turning in a tangle of silken bedclothes, she pushed out of bed and walked back out to the kitchenette. On impulse, she picked up the hotel directory, found out how to dial out and called Evan, who was a night owl and didn’t normally go to bed until one or two o’clock.

Evan was terse and to-the-point. He had fixed the window, but now he was busy, entertaining a friend.

Cheeks burning, Lilah apologized. She was on the point of hanging up when Zane walked through the door.

Zane shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair. “I thought I told you not to use the hotel phone.”

Lilah said goodbye and hung up. “I had to make a call. My cell phone battery was dead.”

He frowned. “Who is it? Howard?”

“No.”

“Lucas?”

“I called Evan to see if he’d fixed my window.”

He removed his bow tie and jerked at the buttons of his dress shirt. “Peters. Just how many male friends have you got?”

Annoyance zinged through her. “I don’t know why that should worry you, when you’ve got so many ‘friends’ yourself.”

Zane’s expression cleared, as if she had just said something that had cheered him up immeasurably. “I’ve spent half the night with a bunch of scared kids.”

She stared resolutely at his jaw, desperate to avoid the softening in his gaze. “It’s after midnight.”

Comprehension gleamed. “And you thought I was with Gemma.”

He closed the distance between them and framed her face so she was forced to meet his gaze, and suddenly there was no air. “Why do you think I became the patron of a Sydney charity, when I’ve been based in the States?”

Zane answered his own question. “Because I wanted you.”

Zane logged the moment Lilah accepted that he genuinely wanted her.

Desire burned away the jealousy that had gripped him when he had found her talking on the phone.

He didn’t get jealous. Ever since his early teens, he had controlled his emotions and his sex drive. He had been selective in his bed partners.

For two years, since he had severed his last short liaison, he hadn’t needed a woman at all. It was not unusual for him to have periods of celibacy, but this one had stretched beyond personal preference.

Lilah’s sea-green gaze locked with his.

The attraction didn’t make sense. He didn’t want Lilah to matter to him, but it was a fact that she did.

Bending his head, he touched his mouth to hers.

Long, drugging seconds passed. He lifted his head before he lost it completely. He was male, he loved women, their softness and beauty; he just didn’t trust them.

Until now, he’d had no interest in changing.

The thought that he could change, that he wanted to trust Lilah, made his heart pound.

Her fingers slid into his hair. The faint, tugging pressure as she lifted up and pressed her mouth to his was stunningly erotic. A wave of intense, dissolving pleasure shimmered through him. Dimly, he noted that he was on the edge of losing control.

Lilah lifted up on her toes, pressing closer to Zane. Subconsciously, she realized she had been waiting for this ever since Elena had interrupted them that afternoon.

With a stifled groan, Zane took a half step forward, pinning her against the edge of the counter.

She felt him tugging at her thick, fluffy robe, the coolness of the air against her skin as the robe slipped to the floor. He dipped his head and took one breast in his mouth through the silk of her chemise, and sensation jerked through her.

A split second later, the room tilted as he swung her into his arms. Depositing her on the soft cushions of one of the elaborate, overstuffed couches, he came down alongside her.

Blindly, she fumbled at his shirt until she found naked skin. She tore open the final buttons and impatiently waited while he shrugged out of the shirt.

She felt the heat of his palms gliding along her thighs, the warm silk of her chemise puddling around her hips.

In twelve years of dating, this was the closest she had come to feeling anything like the intensity that friends wept over and talked about, that she had absorbed second hand through books and movies.

Being desired, she discovered, was infinitely seductive; it undermined her defenses, dissolved every last shred of resistance. Even the idea of holding on to her virginity seemed vague and abstract. Especially in light of the fact that she had already more or less surrendered to Zane two years ago. After grimly hanging on to that bastion of purity for so long she couldn’t help thinking it might actually be a relief to get rid of it.

Zane’s fingers hooked in the waistband of her panties. Driven by desire and an intense curiosity, instead of resisting, Lilah lifted her hips and assisted the process. Cool air was instantly replaced by the muscular heat of Zane’s body as he came down between her legs.

As wrong as her logical mind told her it was to allow Zane to make love to her, the man who was holding her, cradling her as if she was precious to him, felt right. She had never felt more alive; she couldn’t help adoring every minute. In that moment she understood why both her mother and grandmother had risked all for passion. She couldn’t believe she had waited this long to find out.

In an effort to help out, she tugged at the fastening of his pants, and felt him hot and silky smooth against her. His heated gaze locked with hers. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Then he surged inside her.

Zane froze.

His gaze locked with Lilah’s again. Comprehension sliced through the spiraling pleasure that for the past few minutes had numbed his brain. “You’re a virgin.”

Her expression was distracted, although she didn’t seem overly upset. “Yes.”

He wasn’t wearing a condom. That was another first.

Zane’s jaw clenched as wave after wave of raw desire washed through him. He had never lost control before. He needed to pull free and call a halt to the primitive rush of satisfaction that Lilah had only ever been his.