The Billionaire's Secretive Enchantress (The Berutelli Escape) (8 page)

“You realize the person we all expected
to take over was Mark Peterson, right?”

Drake
nodded.  “I’ve already tagged him as a problem issue.”

She was curious, “What are you going to do to neutralize him?”  As soon as she said that, she realized what
she’d said and how it might come across.  More specifically, how it could remind him of that painful period in his past.  Her father had repeatedly used the term neutralize when there was a threat.  “Neutralize” in organized crime lingo meant “get rid of the guy – permanently”. 

“Do you always talk about work in order to avoid personal problems?” he asked, more curious than ever.  She was sitting on the bar stool looking like she was ready to bolt and the only thing keeping her in place was his cooking.  She was pretty c
ute when she peered over the counter to try and see what he was slicing up.  She’d never figure it out since it was all going into a pan.  But he enjoyed her attempts since, whenever she leaned forward, her silk blouse fell open slightly and he could see the soft, perfect swells of her breasts.  Once he even spied the lace of her bra.

“I thought this whole dinner thing was about me asking questions
about work.”  She hid her face behind her glass as she took another sip of her wine. 

He chuckled and tossed in some crushed garlic.  “No you
didn’t.  You know exactly what this dinner is about and it has nothing to do with work.”

Her hand halted halfway to her mouth, the cracker and dip completely forgotten as she watched him, his eyes heating up with anticipation.  “I came here because…”

Drake spread his arms out, bracing them on the countertop as he looked into her eyes, not letting her mis-read the message he was trying to convey.  “Because we’re both attracted to each other and you wanted to get to know me better.”

She shook her head, but something in her stomach tightened in a very exciting way, a trembling began that she didn’t completely understand.  “I don’t…”

“Stop right there, Sierra,” he said firmly, turning the knife so it was laying safely on the wooden cutting board.  “You need to be completely honest here.  I can see you trembling and I know that you’re just as affected as I am by our closeness.”

“No…” she started to say, only to have him shake his head. 

“I understand that something is holding you back from enjoying the fire that’s quickly burning us both up.  So I’ll give you space until you give me an indication that you’re ready.  But until then, don’t even try to deny this thing between us.  I won’t buy it.”

He picked up his knife again and finished off the red peppers he’d been
dicing. 

Sierra swallowed, unsure how to respond.  She wanted desperately to just run away but there
wasn’t anywhere to hide.

He didn’t let her talk about work any longer.  He asked her questions about her personal life, about her school and why she’d chosen to become an architect.  The pasta was finished and he drained it all in the
sink, then turned off the heat underneath the sauce.  “This looks done,” he finally said, smiling because she kept nibbling at the crackers and dip.  He carried two plates filled with pasta and a rich, creamy tomato sauce over to the table near the fireplace.  “Can you bring the wine?” he asked, putting her plate on the table. 

All through dinner, he had her laughing at his antics as he grew up and they both shared hilarious stories about different requests clients had made over the years.  Sierra relaxed for the first time that night, feeling wonderful with the amazing food and the delicious wine, not to mention his dark, sexy eyes laughing with her.  It also helped that he was across the table from her.  The solid wood gave her a slight sense of security from his unrelenting sexual appeal that she was finding very difficult to ignore. 

“Dinner was delicious,” she said, picking up her plate so she could bring it to the kitchen. 

“Don’t worry about that,” he said, taking the plate away from her.  “My housekeeper will come in tomorrow morning and clean everything up.”

Sierra didn’t like that one little bit.  Because that meant she didn’t have anything to do with her hands, no barrier to keep him at bay.  “It’s no problem,” she countered and picked up his plate and wine glass.  “You cooked, I don’t mind doing the dishes.  Besides, leaving them overnight will make the food dry out.”  She didn’t look at him as she set the plate down in the sink and turned on the faucet. 

“Sierra,” his deep voice said from right behind her.  He reached around, placing the dish he’d just taken away from her under the water.  He then easily shut off the water.  Turning her around, he watched with both amusement and sexual frustration as she stood
stiffly in the loose circle of his arms.  “Why are you so afraid of me?” he asked gently.

Sierra wanted to fold her hands together, to close him out but she couldn’t drop her hands because they would be too close to sensitive areas of his anatomy.  She crossed them over her chest, not daring to look up a
t him.  “I’m not afraid of you,” she lied.  “I just don’t really like you.”

He laughed
softly and Sierra was impressed with his self-confidence.  “You’re lying again.  I don’t understand why, but I’m going to find out.”  He kissed her neck, her earlobe.  “I’m going to discover all of your secrets.” 

She shivered with his touch, actually leaning her head to the side to give him better
access.  But then she realized what she was doing, what he’d just said, and she stepped around him, relieved when he let her put some space between their bodies.  “I don’t have any secrets,” she lied again although her words came out sounding breathless and too shaky. 

He watched her with amusement as she walked over to her purse, putting it over her shoulder in a silent command that she was now leaving.  “Everyone has secrets,” he countered.  “One of yours is why you’re so afraid of me.”

She almost rolled her eyes, more confident now that she wasn’t in his arms and he wasn’t kissing her like he had been moments ago.  “You flatter yourself.  I’m not afraid of you.  I’m just not interested.”

One of his dark eyebrows went up with her flagrant challenge.  “So you’re saying that, if I were to go over to you and kiss you, you wouldn’t respond?”

With a firm grip on the strap of her purse, she shook her head.  She couldn’t pull her eyes away from his mouth though.  Her mind instantly imagined what it would be like if he were to kiss her, wondering if he was gentle or rough, demanding.  Her eyes traveled lower, taking in his broad shoulders and the biceps that pushed against his dress shirt that was now open at his throat, revealing the dark hair that her fingers ached to touch, to run through and test its texture.

“No,” she gritted out, not realizing that her body had softened, that he’d seen the way her eyes had traveled down his body and he’d even noticed her nipples that were now pushing against the silk material of her blouse.  “No,” she repeated, more for herself than anything else, “I wouldn’t like that at all.”

He walked over to her, looking down into her eyes.  “You can’t hide it forever, Sierra.”

She stiffened at his bold statement. 
“I don’t have anything to hide.”

His finger reached out and touched the pulse throbbing at the base of her throat.  She almost snapped at him when one of those dark eyebrows went up once again.  “And I really hate it when you do that.”  She spun around on her heel, walking purposefully towards the elevator.  “I’ll catch a cab home.  Thank you very much for dinner and for taking the time to answer all of my questions.”

Drake walked behind her, enjoying the view as she walked swiftly away from him.  He grabbed his keys from the table where he’d tossed them when they’d first arrived, following her into the elevator.

She looked up at him, startled by his presence in the small confines of the elevator’s cab.  “What are you doing?” she demanded, moving away, putting as much space between them as possible although it wasn’t much.  It might be a relatively big elevator, but he was a relatively huge man and just his shoulders took up a lot of space. 
She wasn’t used to men ignoring her statements and it irritated her that he was the first. 

“I’m going to drive you home.”

He said that as if it were obvious, as if she hadn’t just told him that she would take a cab home.  Her anger welled up to almost choke her.  “You know, I much preferred you when…” she started to say that she preferred him when he was in a hospital bed not giving out orders to her but stopped herself just in time. 

He was instantly alert, his sharp eyes taking in the quick blush that stained her beautiful skin.  “You much preferred me when
…?” he prompted.  His eyes narrowed as he looked down into her startled expression.  “Have we met before?”

She shook her head and lowered her eyes.   Taking the offensive, she turned to face the doors.  “I hope that I’m not that unmemorable.  If we’d met before, perhaps you were too drunk to remember me.”  She knew it was a lame comeback, especially since he’d only had one glass of wine the whole
time they’d been having dinner.  Even while he was cooking, he was very careful.  Darn it!  Another mark in his favor! 

She couldn’t let him see her eyes though.  The lie of omission still made her feel guilty.  Her father had lied all the time, kept secrets from everyone.  She didn’t want
to be like him and struggled to keep her silence.  It was all for the greater good, she told herself.

Is that what her father had told himself, she wondered?  Had he justified his cruelty by saying that he was providing someone a job?  Or he was making a home for his children? 

No!  Her father had been a self-centered bastard.  She might not have done enough, or anything, to take him down, but she wasn’t like him.  She wasn’t dishonest or cruel.  She was keeping her identity from Drake only to keep him from remembering a horrible time in his life. 

Well, and to make sure he didn’t fire her. 

She sighed.  That was where she was selfish, she thought with resignation.  She was protecting herself from his memories and retribution.

Another mark in his favor, she thought.  She looked at him out of the corner of her eye as they descended in the elevator.  She didn’t know for sure, but Drake didn’t seem like the kind of man who would shy away from the truth.

He might not ever be able to be her fantasy man, but after knowing a conscious Drake Harrison for only one day, he was definitely starting to have several good points in his favor. 

Not that she was counting them up or anything.
Besides, he had several bad points as well. 

The elevator doors opened up at that moment and she gritted her teeth when she realized that he had taken them down to the garage level.  If she’d been more on her game instead of letting him taunt her, she would have noticed that he’d pressed the garage button instead of the lobby button. 
She could have gotten a cab if she’d thought to press the lobby instead of the garage.  Now she’d have to argue with him to go back up, a losing proposition she suspected, or allow him to drive her home. 

And it would figure that the man would have the closest parking space!  “I really don’t want to put you out,” she said, taking a deep breath.  “Those are the stairs to the lobby.  I’ll just call a cab from there and will head home.” 
She took two steps in that direction, her whole body tense to see if he would allow her the freedom to get home on her own. 

Obviously, she should have known better.  Her day simply wasn’t turning out very well. 

He took hold of her upper arm and steered her right back in the direction of his car.  Within moments, she was sitting in the seat and watching him walk around.  She shook her head with embarrassment and frustration when she realized that she was staring at his ever-so-nice butt.  Couldn’t she just leave the poor guy alone?  And couldn’t he leave her alone?

She wondered what it would be like if she’d met him for the first time today.  Would she be just as irritated by his demeanor?  Would she become angered by his arrogance?

Yes, she thought as he slipped into the car beside her.  There was just something about this man that irked her.  She didn’t like the way she felt all quivery and hot when he got close to her and that had nothing to do with her fear of him realizing that her father was the man who had ordered his death. 

The man just wasn’t her type, she thought as she stared out the window while he backed out of the parking space. 

They drove in silence for several minutes before Sierra realized that he was heading for Washington Park.  She lived in Washington Park!  “How do you know where I live?” she asked, straightening in her seat. 

He glanced over at her quickly.  “I find you fascinating, Sierra.  So I read your personnel file.”
  With a lascivious leer he said, “When you decide that you’re finished running away from me, I can be at your house in less than ten minutes.”  He laughed softly, the deep, grumbling sound made her heart flutter with awareness.  “And you told me where you lived earlier today.” 

She hated the heat that flushed through her with his assurance.  She didn’t like him, she got irritated with everything he said and she definitely didn’t want him rushing over to her place.  “I don’t know what is so interesting about me.  I’m just an ordinary female.”  She
turned to stare back out of the windshield.  “I put my slacks on the same way everyone else does in the morning.”