The Billionaire's Elusive Lover (9 page)

“Caused any other minor catastrophes lately?” he asked with mock innocence.

Helen heard the sharp intake of someone’s breath but ignored it. His question only angered her, since it was embarrassing Jim who wasn’t sure which person he should defend. “Oh, you must be asking if I’ve humanized any part of your organization lately.”

“Tomato, tomato,” he mimicked, changing the accent for the same word.

Her eyes flashed her anger at him but she wouldn’t back down. “No, as a matter of fact. You should know by now that I’ve been avoiding all contact with Dionysius Corporation.”

Alec’s eyes skimmed to Jim, then back to her. “All evidence to the contrary.”

She squared her shoulders and glared at him. “Actually, I didn’t know that this was a company party. Jim forgot to mention that little detail to me,” she ignored Jim’s mumble of protest and continued at Alec. “If I’d known, you must know that I’d be on the other side of London now, enjoying a cheap cup of coffee and enjoying it much more than your excellent wine.”

She must have known he wouldn’t take that comment from her. He turned to Jim and smiled politely. “You’ll have to excuse me, Jim. Your…date…” he hesitated over that word, obviously not liking it one bit, “and I have a difference of opinion we need to hash out.”

He didn’t wait for her to agree but simply took her elbow in his grip and pulled her along to a deserted part of the patio. When he stopped, she pulled her arm free and turned to face him. “Yes, there’s all that charm you’re so famous for. I recognize it now.”

Alec gritted his teeth, not sure if he wanted to throttle the beauty standing in front of him or kiss her until neither one of them could think any longer. “You want charm?” he growled. “Then how about if you stop flirting with my staff and be honest with yourself.”

She gasped. “I’m
not
flirting with your staff!”

His eye brow went up with her declaration, silently challenging her assertion. “What would you call showing up here with a man who is trying to climb the corporate ladder? You’re not exactly the good little wife sort, now are you?”

That hurt. “That’s the worst thing you could say! Take it back!” she said through gritted teeth, one hand fisted at her side while the other one held onto her wine glass with a firm grip, trying desperately hard not to toss it in his face for that last insult.

Alec snarled at her. “Why should I?” he demanded and pulled Jim’s card out of her skirt waist band, holding it up like a gauntlet. “Give him up, Helen. Or I’ll fire him without any kind of recommendation. He’ll never work in Europe again.”

Helen snatched the card out of his hand and snapped, “You’re horrible! I can’t believe you’d even stoop so low as to fire someone in your company simply because I’m friends with him.”

He leaned in closer, his anger almost palpable. He grabbed her hand that was still holding the business card aloft and leaned forward, his body language trying to intimidate her, bend her to his will. “Getting a man’s private phone number constitutes more than just a friendship! Or are you so free with your wiles that you’ll sleep with just about any man?”

She squared her shoulders and glared at him, furious with his arrogant attitude and his ungentlemanly comments which, as far as she could tell, were completely unprovoked. “You’re out of line, Alec. And you’re being horrible!” She pulled her hand out of his grip, thankful that he let her go. She started to walk away from him but he stopped her by grabbing her elbow and swinging her back to face him, tearing the card back out of her hand. “I’m not kidding, Helen. I never make idle threats.”

“For your information,
Mr. Dionysius,
” she slurred his name like an epithet a moment before grabbing the business card out of his hand and putting it behind her back so he couldn’t snatch it again, “this phone number is not for me but for someone else. And I’ll appreciate it if you’ll stay out of my business in the future. I’ll catch a cab home tonight.”

Helen was so furious, she forgot to be circumspect about the plan she’d hatched a half hour ago. Instead, she walked over to Amanda, handed her the card and apologized. “Here,” she said as the blond woman took the card, looking a little wary. “Jim’s a great guy. He’ll treat you well but don’t hurt him,” she said softly.

Without another word or look at anyone, she walked to the stairs, intent on leaving and never speaking to Alec again. She’d almost made it when she felt Alec’s hand on her elbow. She didn’t want to make a scene but she was too furious with him to accept his bullying techniques.

“Leave me alone,” she whispered, glaring up at his handsome face and trying desperately to keep some space between their bodies. She couldn’t get close to him or she’d... she didn’t want to even think about what could happen if he touched her. She was angry with what he’d said, but her anger didn’t seem to diminish her attraction for the awful man.

“I can’t,” he replied back through gritted teeth and moved her over to one of the other groups. He introduced her to several of his vice presidents and Helen was stunned when the charm she’d witnessed that first night reappeared. She kept stealing glances at him, wondering what had ticked him off earlier. She didn’t care, she huffed and took another glass of wine, sipping it angrily. She kept trying to scoot out and add a little space between them, hoping she could escape and get home, get away from him but each time she tried, Alec foiled her plans by anticipating them and countering them. She spent the next three hours gritting her teeth and trying to escape, while at the same time, wishing her jelly like knees would become stronger when he touched her casually, or that her eyes didn’t stray so often to his firm mouth, wanting him to kiss her, feel his hands on her body.

She sipped her wine slowly, careful not to get drunk by switching to club soda later in the evening. That would only tip the odds in his favor and she definitely wasn’t going to give him that much power over her. Each time she found her eyes on him, she pulled them away, knowing that her thoughts would also stray.

The crowd slowly thinned out but Helen wasn’t aware of that. She stayed on the patio, ignoring the air that was cooling down as the sun set. It was still warm but she didn’t notice. In an effort to counter his tingling touch and the heat that emanated from him while he kept her close by his side, she fueled her anger about his irritating manner. She was polite and interested in what anyone else had to say, but ignored him when he spoke.

Suddenly, she looked around and noticed that everyone else was gone and was startled. “I need to leave,” she said when she caught him looking at her with an odd gleam in his eye. She set her glass down on a table and shivered. She could feel his eyes watching her, boring into her back.

“How are you going to get home, Helen?” he asked softly, the intimacy of the night closing in on them now that all the other guests had departed.

“I’ll…” she wasn’t really sure about that. Looking around, she realized that even Jim had left her. Then she remembered giving Amanda Jim’s business card. “Did Jim and Amanda leave together?”

Alec’s mouth frowned. “I believe so. You should give up on him. He wasn’t right for you.”

“I know that,” she said in exasperation. “Why do you think I help the two of them get together?”

He looked at her curiously and walked forward. “You really aren’t interested in Jim?” he asked.

“No.”

He watched her for a moment before he finally accepted her answer. “Good. I’d hate to lose him. He’s a good man.”

Helen’s mouth dropped open. “You really would have fired him? Just because he was dating me?”

“Yes.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

He took a strand of her hair between his fingers, feeling the texture. “You’re mine, Helen. The sooner you come to realize that, the better for both of us.”

His words sent a shiver of tension, of excitement through her body and she was ashamed. She shook her head. “No, Alec. I can’t. Nothing’s changed.”

He didn’t say anything as he looked down at her, his eyes searching each of her features before he finally smiled. “Come,” he said and took her hand in his. “You’ve barely eaten anything tonight and have only had a couple of glasses of wine. We’ll eat in the library while the catering crew cleans up.”

Helen couldn’t deny that she was hungry. Famished actually. But that didn’t mean she wanted to stay here with him. “I think it would be wiser for me to call a cab so I can go home.”

He kept walking and the hand at the small of her back kept her moving as well. “Wiser probably, but not the best plan of action.”

“Depends on your definition of ‘best’,” she replied.

He smiled down at her irritated, but flushed face. He liked having her here in his home and wasn’t ready to relinquish her company. “My definition, of course, overrides yours,” he chuckled.

Helen couldn’t help it. She’d never met anyone so arrogant and yet so amazingly charming about it. “You’re incorrigible,” she said, trying and failing to smother her own laughter.

“Of course. Come along,” he said and pulled her beside him. Along the way, he grabbed two plates and filled them up with the leftovers from the appetizers. Helen watched him, her mouth starting to water as he selected several different appetizers. “Don’t forget those,” she said, pointing to the small éclairs and other delicious looking pastries.

“Sweet tooth?” he asked.

“Big one,” she replied with an unrepentant grin.

He chuckled at the excited expression on her face. “I’ll have to remember that.”

She laughed and shook her head in automatic denial. “Don’t bother. I won’t be around for another meal.”

They left the patio and she followed him through the house, down a long hallway to a set of double doors which opened up to a large library. The room was three stories with books lining the walls from the floor to the ceiling, with two sets of balconies and strategically placed ladders so one could reach the higher books. “Good grief, Alec. Don’t you do anything on a small scale?”

He laughed. “When it is required, of course.”

“And you need all these books?” she asked, sitting down in a large leather chair and slipping off her shoes while he handed her a plate. He took off his jacket, tossing it over the back of the leather sofa and sat down across from her. “I like to read.”

“Have you read all of them?” she teased.

He looked around. “I’m making my way through them.”

She popped a cheese ball in her mouth. “That’s admirable. What kind do you like the best?” she asked.

They discussed literature, pop culture, the current state of the education system and politics, each topic segueing into the next. It was almost midnight before Helen realized what time it was. She glanced at her watch, then sat up straight. “Goodness, I’d better get home,” she yawned. She couldn’t believe how much she enjoyed talking with him, just being with him. It wasn’t just his body that excited her, but also his mind which was swift and articulate. She wished she could find something about him she didn’t like. Anything her mind could latch onto as a trouble issue and would allow her to think of him as only a friend, just like the other men in her past. Alec was dangerous on a level she just didn’t know how to handle.

He’d already discarded his plate and both were sipping brandy. He put his empty snifter to the table and looked across at her. “Come here, Helen.”

Helen tried to resist. She hesitated, seeing the gleam in his eye and knew what he wanted. Her mind told her to get up and leave, that he wouldn’t stop her. But her body wouldn’t comply. She’d been watching him all evening, talking, walking amongst his guests and generally just being the sexiest man alive. And now he wanted her in his arms and she knew he’d kiss her, and probably a lot more.

She should leave. She should just get up, slip her shoes on and walk out the door. It was the safer plan. It wouldn’t lead to more knowledge of this dynamic, amazing man. But she wouldn’t do it. Even as she licked her dry lips and stared across at his, thinking about his kisses, wondering what his touch would feel like and telling herself it would be emotional suicide to go to him, she knew that she was going to throw all caution to the wind and walk those few feet to him and feel him against her, know his kisses and revel in all the electrifying feelings he could spark within her.

She made one condition. “We can’t have sex, Alec.”

“Trust me,” was all he would say. He didn’t promise that she’d be safe, only to trust him.

She did.

Lifting her hand, she reached out and touched his. His hand closed over her small one and pulled her gently towards him on the sofa.

Alec pulled her down so she was sitting in his lap. “Kiss me, Helen,” he said but didn’t wait for her to take the initiative. He pulled her down, his mouth covering hers, making her breathless as his mouth moved over hers, his tongue touching her lips, demanding and gaining entry.

When she pulled away, his mouth moved to her neck, his hands brushing against her waist, touching, gently caressing and making her wiggle underneath his touch. She desperately wanted more, but she refused to give in to that need.

After several long minutes of this torture, Alec pulled away and stood up, pulling her up with him. As he stared down into her eyes, he saw something there that made him nod with approval. “Now I’ll take you home,” he said and took her hand, leading her through his house to a limousine that was waiting out in the front.