The CEO's Little Surprise (9 page)

Cass took the harsh question without flinching. “I have a list of suspects. Everyone who's had their hands on Formula-47 over the past two years and could reasonably understand how it works.”

The betrayer's name was on that list—she knew it like she knew her own face. How else would Gage's additional information about Fyra's yet-to-be-released product offering be so accurate? It was the only explanation. Now she just had to find a way to prove it. And convince the others to give her more time.

Trinity's chair squeaked as she swiveled it toward Cass. “So the article is too vague to involve the authorities, but when your old boyfriend shows up with more detailed information, that's not enough to go to the cops?”

Heat flushed through Cass's cheeks. Blushing? Really? She never did that. Thankfully, Harper's color-correcting foundation should hide the worst of it. “I'm working that angle. In case he's involved.”

“Oh.” Light dawned in Trinity's expression. “I thought that whole consulting thing was weird. I was convinced Gage was hanging around in hopes of swooping in for another chance to break your heart. It never occurred to me that you were the one working him. Good for you.”

Alex's brows snapped together. “What, like you're sleeping with him to find out if he coordinated the leak? That's horrible.”

A squeak of denial almost escaped Cass's clamped lips.

But she couldn't deny it. That was exactly what she was doing, but hearing it from Alex did make it sound horrible. Something sad crawled through her chest and she couldn't breathe.

Why? They were just fooling around anyway. Nothing serious was going on, so it wasn't as if he was going to get
his
heart broken. She wasn't even sure he had one to break.

And
how
in God's name had her friends figured out so quickly that she and Gage weren't strictly business associates this time around? Somehow this whole conversation had become a cross-examination of Cass's sex life.

“It's brilliant,” Trinity insisted. “Men do stuff like that all the time and no one thinks anything of it. About time we turn the tables. Screw him and then screw him over, Cass.”

Finally Trinity was defending her, and if only she hadn't been so enthusiastic about Cass's new status as a ballbreaker, it might have made Alex's accusations more tolerable.

“It's true,” Cass admitted. “I'm keeping my eye on him from close quarters just in case he lets something incriminating slip.”

“Was that before or after he seduced away your good sense?” Alex asked derisively. “You'll forgive me if I find your investigative techniques suspect. No one can fully separate business from sex. It's impossible.”

Not for me.

Cass started to say it out loud, to defend herself against Alex's blatant charge that she'd compromised Fyra due to her personal relationship with Gage, such as it was. She should tell them unequivocally that she wouldn't allow a naked man to distract her from what she knew she needed to do.

But she couldn't say it. What if Gage
was
involved in the leak and she missed it because she was too busy daydreaming about him magically transforming into someone she could count on? That very possibility was exactly the reason the board meeting had descended into girl talk about the man Cass was boinking—because everyone thought she might be compromised.

Ridiculous. She was compartmentalizing just fine. The person responsible for the leak was keeping a low profile, that was all. If Gage knew anything about it, he'd trip up before long.

“Give me a few more days,” she pleaded. “I know what I'm doing.”

Throwing her pen down on her pad with considerable force, Alex shook her head. “No. We don't have a few more days.”

Heart in her throat, Cass evaluated the other two girls, who glanced at each other. Trinity shrugged. “I'm game for it. I kind of want to see what happens with lover boy.”

Harper narrowed her gaze and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. “Gage Branson treated you like dog food in college, Cass. While he's lighting your fire, don't fool yourself into thinking he's changed.”

Red stained Harper's cheeks, likely as a result of holding back her legendary hot temper, which Cass appreciated. Alex's hostility was heartbreaking enough without adding another longtime friend to the other side of the fence.

“I've got that under control, too,” Cass assured them, ignoring that sad ping inside that had only gotten worse the longer the conversation went on.

Of course Gage hadn't changed. Fortunately, Cass's eyes were wide open and soon she'd be watching him disappear down the highway. It was a fact, and wishing things could be different didn't mean she was fooling herself.

Alex's sigh was long-suffering. “This is a mistake. Have all of you forgotten that Gage runs a company that eats into our profits every stinking quarter? He's our competition, just as much as Lancôme and MAC.”

And that was the bottom line in all of this. How fitting that Fyra's CFO would be the one to point that out. In marked contrast to the last time they'd been in this room, Alex's contrariness and lack of confidence had roots in reality, and that sobered Cass faster than anything else could have.

“No one's forgotten that, least of all me,” Cass countered quietly. “Why do you think I'm cozying up to him? Give me a few more days.”

“Fine,” Alex conceded wearily. “I don't see how you're going to prove Gage is involved in the leak while he's got his tongue in your mouth, but whatever. We don't have a lot of choices.”

As victories went, it felt hollow. With the leak still undetected, the company could come down like a house of cards. She got that. But it twisted her stomach to have her strategy so cold-bloodedly laid out for her. Yes, she'd planned to keep Gage close for exactly the reasons they'd discussed, but all at once, the idea didn't sit well. Gage had been...fun thus far. Almost like a friend. A confidante. Everything a lover should be. What if he
wasn't
involved?

She liked it better when her partners had been in the dark about her covert plans.

Abnormally quiet, they left the boardroom, and miraculously Cass made it all the way to her office before the shakes started. Nothing helped calm her nerves—coffee, water, a brisk walk at lunch. She had to get it together, had to find a way to produce results.

If Gage was involved in the leak, she had to figure out a way to prove it. To prove she could compartmentalize and that he wasn't affecting her ability to do her job, once and for all. She buckled down and pored over files and personnel records until she thought her eyes would bleed.

Around three o'clock, her phone vibrated and Gage's name flashed on the screen. She read the text message.

I'm in the parking lot. Ditch work and play hooky with me.

For God knew what reason, that put a smile on her face. That sounded like the perfect short-term solution to her problems.

Nine

T
he dark green Hummer sat in the same parking spot as it had the first time Gage had visited Fyra, under a large oak tree saved when the developers poured the concrete for Fyra's new building.

Shade nearly obscured the monstrosity of a vehicle, but Cass found it easily. With a heightened sense of anticipation, she dashed across the parking lot in hopes of hopping into the Hummer before anyone saw her.

After the unproductive day she'd had, the last thing she should be doing was leaving work at three o'clock. In her current mood, it was the only thing she could have done. Besides, this was exactly where she was supposed to be. She'd promised the others she'd make progress with Gage and the leak. No one had to know she was happy to see him.

Hooky.
It used to be one of their favorite code words and it still had the same punch. Maybe more because she was skipping out on the enormous pressure inside the walls of her company instead of a boring lecture in a drafty hall. A little thrill shot through her as she clambered up into the passenger seat of Gage's car.

God, this sucked. She'd rather pretend they didn't have any more complications between them apart from where to go so they could spend an illicit couple of hours together. Strictly in the name of sex, of course. Instead, she'd spend their time together with both eyes wide open for any signs of his involvement in her company's troubles.

“Hey,” Gage said, flashing her a mischievous smile. “I thought I was in for at least a couple of rounds of sexy text messages designed to get you out of your purple cave. Silly me. If I'd have known all it was going to take was one, I'd have been by at lunchtime.”

“It's Friday.” She waved it off as if she left early on Friday all the time, which was a flat-out lie. “I needed the break.”

Especially if the break involved the man she should be sticking to like Velcro—and not because he was lickable. Which he was.

Concern filled his gaze as he pulled out of the Fyra lot. “Rough day?”

God, she was slipping. How had he realized that instantly? Gage shouldn't be the one person who saw through her, the only person who looked at her long enough to see her internal struggles.

She started to deny it but couldn't. What would be the point? “Yeah.”

He drove in silence for a few minutes, but veered off the road after only a couple of miles. The Hummer rolled to a stop under the shade of a large oak tree near a deserted park.

“Come here,” he commanded as he pulled her into his arms easily despite the gearshift and steering wheel.

She should have struggled more. Should have pushed him away. Sex only, nothing more. That's why she was here—for a much-needed release at the hands of a man very capable of delivering it.

But his soothing touch bled through her and nothing else could penetrate the little bubble surrounding her and Gage as he held her.
Nothing
, not the various parts of the car, not all the weight of Fyra's troubles, not the difficult past between them.

Everything faded under his tender strokes against her skin. She'd needed this, needed him. Needed someone to be there to catch her when she fell, to be on her side. His shirt was soft against her cheek and his woodsy scent filled her head, spreading the oddest sense of peace through her chest.

A tickle in her hair alerted her to the presence of his fingers a moment before both chopsticks slid free, releasing the tight chignon. Her scalp nearly cried in relief as her hair billowed down her back. He gathered the strands in his strong hands, winding them around his palms. Threading them through to his knuckles. Caressing her back.

It was relaxing and stimulating at the same time. How was that possible? But with the binding hairstyle gone, a weight lifted, almost as if he'd studied her and pinpointed precisely what she'd needed.

A groan rumbled in Gage's chest, vibrating her own, and in a snap, the atmosphere shifted. Awareness spread across her skin, sensitizing it. Switching cheeks, she rested her head in the hollow of his shoulder, but oh look, there was Gage's ear just a millimeter from her lips.

Grazing it lightly, she inhaled him, letting his powerful masculinity wash through her. The slow tide picked up speed, flowing like lava toward her toes, heating her in its wake.

Riding the flood, she arched her back, pushing her aching breasts against his chest, seeking more of his touch. She nipped at his throat, slowly working her way back to the tender lobe. When her teeth closed around it, he exhaled hard. It was ragged and thrilling, filling her with bold desire.

She licked him and oh, yes, he tasted amazing.
More.
And then his mouth was on hers and she drank from him, drawing out even more of that essence she craved. Hot and masterful, he kissed her back, meeting her tongue thrusts with his own, changing the angles to go deeper, and she moaned under the onslaught of sensation and Gage and everything she'd been missing for so long.

“Cass,” he murmured against her mouth. “Let me take you to my hotel. It's five minutes away.”

Five whole minutes? Too long. She didn't bother to respond and pulled him half into her seat as she went on a survey of that wicked, gorgeous body.

He sucked in a breath as she dipped into his pants and found the heated length of flesh she craved. So hard and thick and she wanted it. “Now, Gage. Don't make me wait.”

With a curse, he pushed her hands off his body and moved from behind the steering wheel to slide into her seat, shoving her against the door. He promptly picked her up and resettled her on his lap, facing him, and watched her with a hooded, wicked glint to those hazel eyes as he pushed his palms against the hem of her skirt. The fabric gathered under his hands, riding up to her waist where he grabbed on and fitted their hips together, aligning his hard shaft against her center.

Perfect. Almost. Not enough. She rolled her hips, grinding against him and the answering shadow of lust shooting through his gaze heightened her own pleasure.

Without another word, he cupped her head with both hands and pulled her against his mouth, ravishing her with a long, wet kiss. Frantically, blindly, she worked at his pants until he sprang free into her eager hands. Her very own velvet-wrapped present. With her first stroke, his head fell back against the seat, flopping his too-long hair against his forehead and he groaned, eyes tightly shut.

That was...inspiring. She did it again, awed that she could command the body of such a powerful man.

“Back pocket,” he rasped. “Hurry.”

She wasted no time rolling on the condom. Pushing up on her thighs, she guided him to her entrance and plunged until they joined fully in one swift rush. They moaned in tandem as he flung his arms around her to hold her in place, rocking her so sensuously, so soul deep, she felt tears pricking at her eyelids. He filled her body, filled her head, filled every millimeter of
her
.

“So good.” His breath fluttered in her ear as he read her mind. “Open for me.”

To demonstrate, he widened her hips, nestling himself even closer to her.

Slowly, more slowly than she'd thought possible for a man on a mission, he drew her mouth to his and laid his lips against it. Savoring. He explored her as if they had all the time in the world, and as if she wasn't about to scream, and just as she thought she'd come out of her skin if he didn't move, he thrust his hips, driving deeper inside her.

She gasped and the rush overwhelmed her, pounding in her chest, at her center. Her vision darkened as he slid home again and again, and then his thumb found the true center of her pleasure, swirling against it with exactly the right pressure to set her off like a lit stick of dynamite.

The release rolled through her thickly, gathering power as she exploded over and over. She slumped against his chest as he cried out her name hoarsely, tensing through his own climax.

He held her gently, wrapped tight in his arms as if he never planned to let go. She sank down into the ocean of Gage. He surrounded her and she couldn't kick her way to the surface. Didn't want to. This was sheer bliss and it wasn't just due to the sex.

It was Gage. Only him.

“That was amazing,” he murmured into her hair. “Now can we go to my hotel?”

“No.” She snuggled deeper into his embrace, her nose against his neck where it smelled the most like well-loved man. “Take me home. And stay.”

A mistake. He'd cracked open something inside her that should have been sealed shut.

Except she was so tired of pretending she didn't feel anything. So tired of bottling up her emotions and trying to prove she had it all together when in fact, she didn't.

Gage didn't care. He was leaving soon anyway, so why keep up pretenses? It was kind of freeing, knowing how it would end. She didn't have to worry about him breaking her heart because she wasn't going to give it to him. He didn't have to know she harbored all these feelings for him.

“That sounds like an idea I can get behind,” he growled. “Or on top of, in front of, against the wall, in the shower. All of the above.”

Too late to take it back now. And besides, she should have had the presence of mind to invite him deliberately. Because what better way to keep tabs on him than if they were together around the clock? That's where her mind
should
have been at.

“Stay the weekend. I know you have to go back to Austin Sunday night but until then? We'll order lots of takeout and never get dressed.”

“That's a deal, Ms. Claremont.”

His slow, sexy smile felt like a reward and she planned to grab her spoils with both hands. She'd spend the weekend enjoying herself and, as a bonus, she'd make solid progress on investigating Gage's involvement in the leak, just like she'd promised her partners. With the man in question in her bed, surely she could sneak a glance through his phone or keep an ear out in case he talked in his sleep. It was the best of both worlds and she didn't even have to feel guilty about it because she was looking out for Fyra first and foremost.

The other stuff—the emotional knot—wasn't a factor. She wouldn't let it be. She had to buckle on her armor a bit tighter while around Gage, that was all.

Gage untangled their clothes, hair and bodies, helping her resituate everything and then climbed back into the driver's seat. Fortunately, the park was still deserted or that would have been a helluva show.

She had one short weekend to get results on her quest for a name...before the other girls made a motion to relieve her of her position as head of the company she'd helped build from nothing.

* * *

Gage stopped by the hotel to pick up Arwen and his luggage, then checked out while Cass waited for him outside.

When he got back to the Hummer, he opened the back to stow his bags and waved for Arwen to hop in. That's when he realized this was not going to go well. She sat on her haunches and stared at the sky, the ground, a bug flying by. It was her way of saying she wasn't riding in the back like chattel.

“Don't be ridiculous,” he growled. “There's a human in the front seat. You're a dog. Ride in the back. That's what they make this part of the vehicle for.”

Nothing. He shook his head. They both knew she wasn't just a
dog
and this was one of the worst times in recent memory for her to remind him of it. He treated her like she was human, and she lapped it up as her due in true lady-of-the-manor style. Just because Gage had a real human to spend time with for a change didn't alter the fact that he'd spoiled her rotten due to his own lack of companionship over the years.

“What's going on?” Cass asked, her hair still loose and delicious around her shoulders.

The sight of her in that passenger seat, where she'd so sweetly offered him a fantasy weekend four seconds after giving him what he'd already thought was the ultimate encounter—amazing. He couldn't wait to dive in again.

“Arwen. In the car. Now,” he muttered. “I've got a date with a shower and a wet woman and you are not going to mess it up.” Louder, he called, “Just having a discussion about the proper place for a dog. One sec.”

Extra motivation must have done the trick because he manhandled Arwen into the back on the first try and shut the hatch before she could leap out, which he wouldn't put past her. She gave a mournful cry that he heard even with all of the doors closed.

When he climbed into the driver's seat, Arwen had already weaseled in between the front seats, paws on the gearshift. She stuck her nose in Cass's face, clearly bent on discovering all the secrets of the woman who had usurped her spot.

Uh-oh. Arwen had never deigned to check out a woman Gage had brought into her world. Usually she ignored them. Of course, Gage always introduced her to someone off Arwen's turf and it was rare that Arwen saw the same woman twice. Gage couldn't even remember the last time he'd had a woman in the Hummer, let alone at the same time as the vizsla.

“She's so sweet,” Cass exclaimed as she rubbed Arwen's ginger head enthusiastically, earning a smile from the dog.

Gage eyed Arwen suspiciously and with no small amount of shock. She never approved of anyone female, let alone someone she'd already singled out as a rival. “Yeah, that's one word for her.”

Arwen muscled her way into the front seat, right onto Cass's lap before Gage could grab her collar or even warn Cass that forty pounds of dog was coming her way.

Great. It wasn't as if Cass was wearing a fifteen-hundred-dollar suit or anything—not that he'd shown much more care when he'd crumpled it up around her waist. But still. There was a place for Arwen and it wasn't on top of Gage's...date. Former lover. Current lover. Partner in crime. Whatever.

“Sorry,” he threw out. “Arwen, get in the back!”

“It's okay.” Cass shot him a smile as she rearranged Arwen's paws off her bare legs. “I don't mind. It's not that far to my house and she's used to riding in the front, I would imagine.”