Stolen: The Billionaire Deception (11 page)

ERIN

I could feel Seth’s eyes on me as I pranced along in front of him on the way into the club. He brought out a playful side of me that I had all but forgotten and I loved it. When we reached the door I felt him reach around me to open it. “You look so damned hot, I almost forgot my manners,” he said. I shivered for the second time that morning. The feel of his warm breath against my neck was sending signals to just about every part of my body. In a playful voice I said, “Is there any chance you’ll be distracted enough not to notice how rusty my game is when we get out on the courts?”

He laughed and said, “At the very least I’ll be polite and pretend not to notice.”

“
Thanks,” I said with a grin. He took me into the pro shop where I thought he was going to rent or borrow a racquet for me since I’d told him I didn’t have one. Instead, five hundred dollars later he’d bought me a top of the line one and two cans of tennis balls.

We went out to the clay courts and took our places on opposite sides of the net. “We’ll just warm up,” he said. Then I watched as he bounced a ball in front of him and his sexy biceps flexed against the cotton material of the polo shirt he was wearing as he pulled back his tennis racquet and let it fly. I let it fly too… right past me. He laughed hard and said, “I forgot to tell you that you’re supposed to hit it back.” I stuck my tongue out at him.

“
Hit me with another.” He did and again, I watched it go by. Laughing myself now I said, “Maybe we could start out with me hitting one to you.”

“
Sure,” he said with an amused expression. He tossed me one of the balls and I tried to look confident as I bounced it up and down with my racquet before at last turning loose and lobbing it over the net. He hit it back; I’m positive with much less force and finesse than he would have against a real opponent. I hit it back and when it cleared the net I jumped up and down and squealed loudly. I was so happy that I forgot we were still in a volley and the ball landed in the center of my gut. I let out an, “Oomph!” as it did and within seconds, Seth was at my side.

“
I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

I was looking at him like he was a magician. “I’m fine. How the heck did you get here so quickly?”

“
I came over the net,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“
You jumped over the net?”

“
Yes, why is that so odd? I thought you were hurt.” He looked so concerned, I felt both bad and impressed that he cared so much. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

“
It’s not odd, it’s sweet,” I said. “Thank you. I’m a dork, but I’m fine.”

Laughing, he said, “You’re not a dork. Here, let me just show you a more efficient stance.” He stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around mine. The warmth of his body pressing against me and his breath on the side of my face was making me dizzy. He slid his hands down my arms sending goose bumps scurrying in every direction. Then he slid one of his knees in between mine to reposition my leg and I went weak in my own.

“
Shift this outer leg over like this,” he said. His mouth was closer to my ear then and my arms and hands were shaking so badly that I actually dropped my racquet. I felt him smile against my face. The arrogant son of a…. His lips were on the bottom part of my ear and then started sliding down my neck. My body was convulsing now. We were in public, he needed to stop.

He took his sweet lips from my neck and turned me around to face him. He was looking at me with pure desire in his blue eyes and I was rendered speechless. Then I felt the warmth of his lips on mine and the soft touch of his hand against my cheek as he pulled me in for a kiss. Our tongues found each other and intertwined as we lost ourselves. For that moment I once again forgot that people were watching. It was just he and I, the only two people on the earth. When he at last let me up so that I could breathe I said in a ragged, forced breath, “We should stop, people are watching.”

“
Or… we could get a room,” he said, in that sexy, throaty, seductive voice of his. Any small piece of willpower I had left was left melted on that clay court and I stepped right over it as I took his hand and followed him back inside.

~

CHAPTER TWELVE

~

I fell asleep in Seth’s arms after we made love and woke up hours later disoriented and confused at first. As soon as I looked over and saw his face that warm, delicious feeling he gave me returned and I snuggled back down against him. I lay there in the silence of the plush, up-scale room and listened to the sounds of his breathing and the rhythm of his beating heart. I let myself revel in it for a while before allowing the seeds of self-doubt to slip back in.

I thought about making love to him and I knew deep in my heart that it wasn’t wrong… everything about it had felt right… everything. His touch was gentle and warm and rough and possessive all at once and I’m not lying when I say that I’ve never felt anything even closely akin to it. But then I had to ask… what about my task? What about my father’s company… my company? Was I, now that I had consummated my feelings for this amazing man, still willing to destroy his family? Could I do what I had to do without destroying him… without hurting him?

I felt Seth stir and I looked up at his face. He still had his eyes closed and his long, light-brown eyelashes lay across the tops of his cheeks as he breathed in and out. I reached up and touched his face and when he felt my touch, he smiled.

“
Hi beautiful,” he said.

“
Hi gorgeous.”

He stretched and then used his strong arm to pull me back into him. He held me against his chest, stroking my back lightly with his fingers. He kissed the top of my head and said, “Thank you.”

“
Thank you,” I said, with a smile.

“
I wasn’t just talking about the sex,” he said. “Although, many thanks for that… I was talking about you. You make me feel like I can be a better person.”

I sat up, propped on my elbow and looked at his face. “Why would you say that?” I asked him. “You’re such a good person.”

“
I’m glad you think so baby,” he said. “But there is so much room for improvement. I finally feel like I’m going to get there though. I finally feel like it doesn’t matter anymore how wrong my father thinks everything I do is…”

“
He’s wrong,” I told him. The simple thought of that awful man having the unmitigated gall to tell Seth that he was anything less than perfect made me instantly angry. “Everyone who works with you, Seth, knows what a fantastic businessman and even better boss you are.”

“
I work hard and I try to do what’s right… but that’s the issue he has with me.”

“
What do you mean?”

He smiled suddenly and said, “I’m sorry. This is a crazy discussion to be having after I just made love to the most amazing woman in the world. I don’t even know where this is coming from. You just make me feel so safe.”

The guilt was like a constant dull ache in my chest when I was with him. When he said that I made him feel safe enough to disclose things it felt like the guilt had taken ahold of my heart like a fist and was squeezing it. I took a deep breath and the wicked me decided that this was too good of an opportunity. I would make it up to him later. I would explain. “No, it’s not crazy. I’m glad you feel safe with me. What do you mean by him having a problem with you doing what is right?”

Seth shook his head and with a heavy sigh he said, “He just has no scruples. His moral compass is all skewed, if it’s even there at all any longer. I fought it for so long, but I wasn’t strong enough to keep standing up to him… until I met you. I was headed in the direction that he’s built his fortune on. I would do what I had to and use whom I had to and take everything I could get from everyone I met. Thank you, Erin. Thank you for making me want to be a better man. I wanted to tell you that for obvious reasons but also, because my father will be at the executive meeting in the morning.”

I hugged him tight. I couldn’t speak at that moment because I knew if I did the dam was going to break. I scooted my body up instead and kissed him. The kiss turned passionate and before long we were lost in each other’s bodies once more. I’d have to think about what he’d told me and what I was going to do later. That moment in time was reserved only for him.

That night when Seth dropped me off at my apartment, I wanted to ask him in. I wanted to invite him to spend the night with me. I didn’t, and I think he was a little hurt because of it. I think he thought I had an issue with introducing him to Grant. It wasn’t that at all. Grant wasn’t there and I knew it, but if he had been, I know that Grant would have been a perfect gentleman. I was worried because I had photographs in my room. They were treasured photos of my family and my childhood home. I even had my father’s old framed photographs of the first sign he had made for the company and a photo of him sitting behind his desk in his first office at the company he owned and created. All the lies… everything I’d told him… or the things I hadn’t told him about my past were right there out in the open for him to see. If I were going to continue to do this, and continue to see him I would have to make some adjustments. I’m positive Grant would have a thing or two to say about that.

***

The next morning, I got to work early as I normally did. The building was still practically empty except for security and some of the cleaning staff. I put my bag in my office and when I got to the door of the conference room for our Monday morning executives meeting it burst open and a man brushed roughly past me. Once again, I had encountered the great and powerful James Hunter and he hadn’t even noticed me.

I had to stand there for a moment until I stopped shaking and then I reached for the door again and went inside. I hated that he had that effect on me. I forced all thoughts of him out of my mind and sucked in the sweet aroma of coffee and cinnamon rolls. As usual, the room was set up for the meeting, including muffins and rolls and coffee and tea. Seth’s assistant was in the building at the crack of dawn sometimes. She’s wonderful.

She was sitting in her usual spot and I thought it was strange that she didn’t even look up when I came in the room. “Good morning, Deborah,” I said to her. She looked up as if she just noticed me.

“
Oh. Good morning, Erin.” Her voice was shaky and I thought that was odd. It dawned on me that someone needed to tell her how much what she did was appreciated.

I went over to pour myself a cup of coffee and said, “I don’t know if you get the credit you deserve around here or not, but I have to tell you what a wonderful job I think you do, and thank you.” I turned around and was instantly horrified at what I had done, although I wasn’t even sure what that was. She was crying.

“
Oh Deborah, I’m so sorry. Don’t cry, please.” I sat down next to her and lay my hand gently on her arm. She reached over with her other hand and took mine and squeezed. She wasn’t making any noise but the tears were rolling rapidly down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” I said again. I had no idea what I was apologizing for. She sucked in a deep, ragged breath.

“
Don’t be sorry, Erin. You didn’t do anything. Thank you for the compliment. I’m sorry. I’m so embarrassed.”

“
Oh no, don’t be embarrassed. Is there something I can do? Do you need to talk?”

She looked up towards the door and said, “I’m just a stupid woman. Unfortunately, there’s nothing anyone can do about that but me.” She looked at me then, right in the eyes and said, “Seth’s a good boy, he’s not like his father… but be careful, don’t make the same mistakes I did.”

“
I’m sorry…” I was confused. Did she know about Seth and me? I suppose neither of us hid it very well, the clandestine meetings in our offices, the laughing and joking and sometimes a pat on the shoulder or a touch of the hand. Before I could finish my question however the door had opened again and the room began to fill up with the usual players. Deborah had wiped her face on a napkin quickly. Then she looked at me and discreetly placed a finger to her lips. I nodded and looked up in time to see Seth. He smiled at me and I smiled back. Then I looked around the room and wondered how many of the rest of them knew what Deborah knew. Then I wondered if it mattered. Then I wondered what she had meant about making the same mistakes that she had. James Hunter had left the room just before that… Deborah and James?

~

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

~

The meeting went as it normally did and I left it with about five new assignments. Seth was still talking to Harlan and Michael when I left. I took the folders with the new assignments back to my office and prepared to go to work. As I sat them down on the desk, I noticed a rectangular white and gold envelope lying there with my name on it. I picked it up and opened it, pulling out a white card with gold engraving. It was an invitation to “Hunter Corp Ball.” I sat down in my chair and looked closer at it. It was this coming Saturday night and would be held at the family’s estate in the Hamptons. Another thing I didn’t know about Seth. I had no idea that his family had an estate in the Hamptons. He’d mentioned something about riding horses at a house in Martha’s Vineyard… I wondered how many houses they actually had.