S*x and Secrets: Alpha Billionaire Forbidden Romance (6 page)

I’d never had a jealous bone in my body. So why did this bother me as much as it was?

The fucker outsmarted me. He moved to the side as Montana approached. “Stand here, Montana,” he offered, grabbing hold of her wrist and pulling her in close to him.

Bernard Drake pointed to us. “These three are going to spearhead the operation. Miss Marx is practically part of our family, and who knows, maybe she and Beckham will surprise us with some welcome news soon.”

I didn’t appreciate the way he alluded that Montana was going to be a permanent part of his family. I was damn sure he’d love for it to be official. Fuck. If I wanted Montana, I’d have to pull out all the stops before Beckham Drake placed a claim on her.

How was I going to do that without causing the biggest shit storm ever? Our joint venture would be fucked before it even began. I couldn’t let the Chinese win, but neither could I watch as Beckham tried to dig his way closer to
my
girl.

Old man Drake pointed to the tray laden with food. “Let’s have a bite to eat before we get into the details of the JV. It’s going to be a long afternoon, and I hope none of you had other plans for today, because we may be here till midnight. There’s no time to waste as I’ve been informed that the Chinese like to move fast.”

Still fuming, I watched as Beckham placed his hand at the small of Montana’s back and steered her toward the side table. So she didn’t mind if he treated her like a lady then?

More than a little pissed off, I opened the sliding door and made my way onto the balcony for fresh air. My stomach grumbled and my insides turned upside down, yet I had no appetite.

For a moment, I let my gaze wander over Central Park and drew in a few deep breaths. I’d have to play my strongest hand soon or lose her to Beckham Drake. Like fuck I’d ever let that happen.

It hit me in the gut. Finally, it all made sense—all these strange feelings I’d been having lately.

Montana was meant to be
mine
.
Not just a fuck buddy, but my partner for life.

How in hell I was going to pull it off I had no idea, but if I didn’t, a part of me would die.

H
iding behind Beckham, I managed to avoid Levi as much as possible. The chemistry between me and Levi was insane, and he had such a magnetic pull on me that it took all of my effort not to stare at him or touch him while fighting the urge to be by his side.

What the hell was happening to me? I wasn’t ever going to fall for any man, and Daddy Drake had spelled out clearly what the company policy was regarding fraternizing with competitors on a personal level.

A wry smile twisted my lips as I realized the irony of us being thrown together into a working relationship.

Maybe it was time to walk away from Levi. For his sake and mine. This joint venture was bigger than both of us.

My mind wandered back to when it had all started. Levi Barrington the Third was in training to take over the role of CEO of their family conglomerate a year ago, and I had just been appointed as a director of their biggest rival in Communications.

We’d faced off in the boardroom a dozen or more times when both our companies had tendered for the same contracts. The cocky trainee CEO intrigued the hell out of me. I didn’t know if I wanted to rip his clothes off or slap him across the face sometimes.

We’d just been to a court hearing on a hostile takeover of one of the companies we were both interested in acquiring, and as usual, the sparks had flown between us.

Levi had followed me into the ladies’ room, pinned me to the wall, and kissed the shit out of me.

When I’d come up for air, shocked and thrilled at the same time, he’d stared into my eyes. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that, Miss Marx?”

To which the words had slipped out before I could stop them. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for you to do that, Mr. Barrington? What took you so long?”

“I want you, Montana.”

“Stop talking and show me.”

He’d lifted me off the floor, positioned me onto his hard cock, and fucked me against that wall. That had just been the beginning. Two hours later, he’d called me with a proposition, and we’d been secret friends with benefits ever since.

Was it the fact that it was forbidden that made it all the more thrilling? Both Levi and I were risk takers when it came to business matters, Botox excluded. Both of us were high achievers with extremely high sex drives. We’d seemed like the perfect match, and since BOB just didn’t cut it for me anymore, I’d ignored the voices in my head and just let my instincts take over.

The chances of us ever working together had been slim. I’d learned to
never
say never, but I didn’t see this coming. We’d be working closely but also be watched like a hawk. Any adversity from the Chinese would be a walk in the park compared to how hard it was going to be to hide my attraction to Levi, so if I had to use poor Beckham as a shield, it was unavoidable.

As for Beckham—he was like a big brother to me, and I really liked him a lot. He was smart and kind and great to be with, and if I hadn’t met a man like Levi, I could see myself spending more of my free time with him.

“Try the smoked salmon sandwiches. They’re great,” Beckham said, as he took a bite. I hated smoked salmon. Raw fish and me didn’t go together, even if it was smoked.

Try as I might, I couldn’t stop myself from stealing glimpses of Levi standing on the balcony. His eyes had met mine a few times during the meeting, and I’d seen questions in them I didn’t know how to answer. When I’d signed up to become his fuck buddy, I’d had no idea something like this would happen and throw us under the spotlight. There was no manual on how to handle this, and I was floundering.

Beckham placed his hand on my arm and gazed into my eyes. “I’m so happy we’re working closely on this, Montana. Maybe you’ll say yes and go to dinner with me to celebrate tonight?”

“I . . . um—” Racking my brain to find an excuse that I hadn’t used with Beckham before, I was cut short by his father.

“It’s not even a question. We’ll all go out to celebrate together. But I must add that I’ve been waiting for some news from the two of you, and I’d love to be a grandfather someday. Keep the legendary Drake boys going, you know?”

Wow, that was full on. Increasingly Daddy Drake had been trying his hand at matchmaking. It started out subtly and at first it was sweet and I was flattered that he thought I’d be a good wife for his son, even though I wasn’t going there with Beckham or any other man.

I was human and like anyone else, it was nice to be deemed worthy. But lately it had gotten worse and he’d been more direct in his approach throwing hints at every opportunity. It was clear that he wanted us to be a couple in spite of my protests.

Beckham’s eyes gleamed. “I’m working on it, Dad. But you keep Montana too busy with work, so it’s been a battle to get her on a date.”

Daddy Drake laughed and patted his son on the back. “Try harder, Son, try harder. She’s worth the effort.”

“Yes sir,” Beckham said, grinning.

“Great. I’ll leave it up to you.” He gave me a wink and walked off with a chuckle, leaving me with a knot in my stomach.

Oh God, how was I going to handle this? Beckham Drake was a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. The marrying kind. He was as handsome as he was loaded, and I could do a lot worse. But marriage wasn’t for me. And babies? That was one thing I wasn’t negotiable on. I wasn’t ever having any of those. End. Of. Story.

This wasn’t exactly the time or place to have this discussion, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Can we go to the office next door, please?” I asked Beckham.

“Of course,” Beckham said without hesitation. “Let’s go.”

Again, his hand appeared at the small of my back as we left the room. I glanced backward into the eyes of Levi just as he returned from outside. He gritted his teeth as he took in Beckham’s possessive gesture and a frown knitted his brow. Was Levi jealous? Surely not.
No emotional stuff
. That was part of our agreement.

I gave him a half smile and left the room with Beckham. This was awkward as hell.

As soon as we entered the empty office, I closed the door.

“Beckham, we need to talk,” I said as I turned to him.

“If it’s about my father . . . you know he adores you. It would really make him happy if we were at least dating.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not? We’d be perfect together. I really wish you’d give me a chance to show you.”

Beckham reached out for me, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me closer to him. I pushed hard against his chest until he let me go and took a step backward.

This wasn’t what he was hoping for. I had to set him straight sooner rather than later.

“This shouldn’t come as a surprise. I’ve told you before that I really like my job and your family. But I’m not into relationships, and I’m never getting hitched or having babies. Please respect that and don’t make it harder on either of us.”

“Too late, Montana. I’m already falling for you, and I’m determined to change your mind about it.”

Crap.
Beckham chooses
this
moment to tell me?

He took a step forward to close the gap between us but I held out my hand to ward him off.

I shook my head and pursed my lips. Why couldn’t he get it and move on? “No. You’re just infatuated. Find another girl, Beckham. I’m not the right one for you.”

Beckham laughed. “The heart cannot be told who to love. I think I started falling for you the first time I laid eyes on your pretty face. That’s why I broke off the engagement to Emily. I want you, Montana. Give me a chance to show you what our life together could be like. I don’t know what happened in your past to put you off getting married or having a family, but we can work through it.”

He’s talking as if it’s a given and just a matter of time.

Exasperated, I blew out a long slow breath. “You aren’t listening.”

He shook his head. “I am. But you aren’t dating anyone else, so I figure if I persist I can win you over. I’ve always gotten what I set my sights on, Montana, so there’s no use fighting me on this.” He took a step toward me again and pulled me back into his arms.

Damn.
I wasn’t expecting this. I’d never had trouble convincing Beckham that I was right before.

A sharp knock on the door startled me.

Before either of us could respond, the door pushed open, and Levi’s tall frame filled the doorway. His expression was ominous and his eyes bored through me.

After a few moments his gaze shifted to Beckham’s arm around my waist before his eyes came back to me. They were stone-cold hard, and his face was pale. A small vein ticked in his jaw which was tightly locked.

He lifted a brow and smirked. “Before the two of you get carried away celebrating—or whatever the hell you’re doing—the meeting is continuing in the boardroom.” He planted his feet wide and folded his arm across his chest, which only made him appear larger and more intimidating. “If I’m to be working with either of you, you better get your asses back in there now or I’m out.”

Beckham didn’t let go of me, even though I pushed against his chest. He frowned back at Levi, clearly not happy with the interruption. “No need to be sour, buddy. We just have some personal stuff to talk about, but we’re on board. Just give us another moment, okay?”

“No,” Levi growled. “Get the fuck in that boardroom
now
. Stop wasting everyone’s time.” He glared at us, his lips pulled to a thin line. “And get your hands off Montana,” he snarled before he pivoted on his heels and stormed off.

I couldn’t believe my ears. What was he thinking acting like that?

I could handle Beckham—he’d eventually understand that we were never going to be an item and that I didn’t picture him as my lover or husband. He just wasn’t for me as hard it might be for him to hear that.

But Levi? This wasn’t the place to go all alpha male. Outside our agreement he had no rights to me same as I had none to him.

“What the fuck’s gotten into him?” Beckham said. “He’s acting like an asshole, and we haven’t even started working together.”

Annoyed, I shrugged and pushed Beckham away, following Levi into the boardroom.

Men
.
Maybe I should’ve become a lesbian in high-school after all.

A shiver ran down my spine. No, that was an experience I never wanted to have again—being hit on by Jaqueline was not fun. I wasn’t into girls and that was just the way I was wired.

But men? I didn’t trust them not to hurt me. That was why sticking to my career was certainly the best pathway for me. Safe. No heartbreak involved.

The rest of the afternoon flew by rapidly. Getting down to business and planning our operation turned out to be a far greater challenge than initially anticipated. We brainstormed and argued and sifted the bad ideas from the good ones.

Levi had sat with a stormy expression on his beautiful face for the first hour, but gradually he’d been sucked in to the brainstorming session. The man was brilliant; his ideas and out-of-the-box thinking exciting me more than I could let on.

Beckham’s confidence waned as Levi’s surged. He was good at this, and sometimes we’d finish one another’s sentences and then break into laughter after a few seconds of awkward silence.

Was it strange that talking business turned me on?

Finally, after seven hours of working flat out, Daddy Drake called everyone together again. “I’m sure you’re all starving. I’ve arranged for us to go to the new place on Sixth Avenue. Let’s go grab a bite to eat and call it a night. Tomorrow will be an even longer day.”

“I’m just going to grab my purse from my office,” I told Beckham.

“I’ve never officially had a tour of your offices. I’ll walk with you,” Levi offered casually.

My eyes widened, and I pulled a face at him. Was he crazy?

“Relax,” he said, as he took hold of my elbow and steered me to the elevator. “I’m not going to attack you, even if I want to rip that sexy suit off and let my dick have his way with you. Working so close to you has, um, been a challenge to say the least. The Monster has the hardest time staying calm.”