However, as she sat, she realized it was not much different because his knees kept touching hers. Other than that, the meal wasn’t very unpleasant. Gael didn’t talk much, perhaps sensing her need for silence. The wine was mild, and she suspected that it contained minimal alcohol. After eating, they both went back to the living room.
14. Chapter 13
Getting to know Zoe was different from what he expected. She was intelligent and articulate. They spent the afternoon talking about many things, as she seemed to have put aside her contempt of him. As far as he was concerned, how they met didn’t matter. What mattered now was that he found himself wanting to know the woman that she was.
It was rare that he met a woman who stimulated his intelligence. He could not remember ever meeting a young woman her age that had life figured out. As he spent time knowing her, he realized she was a woman of simple tastes. She didn’t care about the things girls her age cared about, like clothes, jewelry, and other trivial stuff he usually got bored hearing. She never once mentioned fashion or her hair. He was intrigued.
“Why aren’t you employed?” he asked after talking about marketing and how the advertising industry fed on the individual’s emotions to sell products.
“I never said I was unemployed. I said I was between jobs,” she corrected.
“What does that mean … do you freelance?”
She hesitated before responding, “Yes, you could say that.”
“What exactly is it you do? You talk a lot about marketing, are you a marketing agent?”
“Somewhat?” she replied.
Her answers were vague, but it didn’t matter. He was beginning to see that she was more than met the eye.
“How would you like a job?”
Her eyes widened, and she stared at him. Something seemed to be happening behind her hazel eyes. While he waited for her response, he pondered the familiarity of those eyes, especially when the amber flecks appeared in them.
“What kind of job?” she finally asked. She didn’t sound as enthusiastic as he thought she would be.
Their eyes locked, and the space between the armchair and sofa seemed to close. Everything faded, and she was the only thing in the room. It took some effort to refocus and concentrate on the discussion.
“We’re in the process of finding a spokes-model. If you work with me, I think we would make a great team.”
“As a spokes-model?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“No, you’ll be my public relations officer or marketing executive. You could also help me find the ideal spokesperson for the job,” he informed her.
He examined her face as she rose from her seat and moved to the mantle. She stared into the fire contemplatively. The blue and yellow flames of the faux fire flickered, reflecting off her face.
On autopilot, he followed her, getting close. It wasn’t a deliberate act. In fact, he found himself doing things he wouldn’t normally do when he was around her. Gael felt the need to figure out why he was drawn to her, and in the process, he needed to know what made her tick.
“What are you thinking?” he drawled.
She turned, their eyes connecting. “I don’t know. Can I think about this?”
“Take all the time you need. I’m still waiting for the agency to call me about that girl,” he replied.
“What girl?”
He sighed. “A model who supposedly possesses a degree in communication, who I’m told is in very high demand. I heard she has the looks and brains.”
“What a coincidence … I have a Master in Communication,” she exclaimed.
He leaned his head to the side, studying her bug eyes and bright smile. She was different from the models he’d interviewed, articulate and graceful when she wasn’t being difficult.
“I have an idea,” he said, not taking a second to make up his mind. “How about you do it?” It was a kneejerk reaction upon seeing her up close. Being able to observe her fine features took his breath away. Her beauty astounded him. Why hadn’t he noticed before?
Her beautiful forehead creased, and she looked at him puzzled. “Do what?”
“The spokesperson. I want you to do it.”
Her face fell, and she twisted her lips. “I thought you said we should get along and put our differences behind us?” Her voice rose a notch.
He drew a blank at the sudden change in attitude. It was obvious she was upset by the way her lips set and the flushed tone of her skin.
“What did I say?”
She inhaled and let it out quickly. “First, offering me a job as your PR person and then suddenly offering me your precious spokes-model position. Weren’t you the one who said you needed a model with brains?”
“Yes, and you fit the role perfectly,” he replied, baffled at her outburst. “What’s the problem?”
“I don’t need anyone doing me any favors. I’m not desperately looking for a job, so I don’t need your pity.”
“Where is this outburst coming from? Why would I offer this job out of pity? Do you know how much time and effort I’ve put into finding the right girl?”
“All the more reason that it’s fishy you offering it to me.”
“Do you know how much I was planning to pay the right person?” he asked.
“I don’t care,” she snapped. “If you’ve taken so much care finding the right person, why would you offer it to me just like that?”
“Because I think you’re her.”
“Bullshit, and you know it, Gael Matheson. You very well know that you prefer big busted blondes like the ones you interviewed!”
His eyes narrowed while she stared at him with mouth agape. “How did you know that?” he growled, stepping closer to her.
Mouth still open, she stepped back. He continued his advance until her back was against the wall near the window, and he was within inches.
“I asked, how did you know the models I interviewed?”
She straightened, looking directly into his eyes. “Because I was the one you so rudely rejected!”
That didn’t make sense; he stared into her hazel eyes with their blazing ember flecks. His mind went back to the day before yesterday. The day of the auditions when he ran through the girls. She wasn’t among them.
He looked away, squinting his eyes, trying to remember his every move. He’d left the office after Beth informed him they were ready; as he walked in, he almost bumped into a boy. Then he realized she was a girl but she … his eyes flicked back to her hazel ones. That’s why they were so familiar. But he’d completely blanked the incident from his mind.
“My God,” he muttered under his breath, stepping back. “The baggy jeans and sweat suit hoodie.”
“Finally, your brain can function without tits,” she snickered.
“So that’s it; your attitude this entire time was because of that?”
She brushed past him to the sofa, dropping onto it. “What did you expect when you didn’t even give me a chance? I flew from New York after a long assignment, just to talk with you, and you dismissed me because I didn’t have long blonde hair and big silicone boobs!”
“Your breasts are fine the way they are.” The moment he said the words was the second he regretted them. She shot him a cutting look while her cheeks painted bright red.
Still, her breasts were just the right size for her body. He’d spent most of his life admiring that particular part of the female anatomy. Hell, he obsessed over them, but the truth of the matter was, there was hardly a woman these days with the real deal. She had the real thing, and he was dying to touch them, taste them and lick their peaks until she begged him to stop. A jolt in his crotch alarmed him. The heat in his scrotum wound its way to his gut and settled there.
“You … you … I knew this was all just an act. You saw me naked, and you thought I’d be easy prey. After all, we’re stuck in a snowstorm; you must be craving some hot flesh … right?” she said, springing from the sofa.
Breathing heavily, her fists to her sides
, Gael was amused. He leaned against the mantle and watched those breasts rise and fall with every heavy breath she took.
“What are you looking at?” she spat, her eyes on fire.
“You know what you need? A damn good screw,” he easily replied.
First, her face went blank, and then it went red before she smirked. “And who’s gonna do it, you?”
“Why not. Why are you fighting the fact that you’re attracted to me?”
“You’re so full of yourself, you arrogant bastard. What on earth made you think I was in the least attracted to you?”
Gael was on a path, a dangerous one, and he could not stop himself. The game had gotten out of his control, and now his blood was hot, his cock was hard, and he wanted her. The more she fussed, the more he was drawn to her. The more she denied her feelings, the more he wanted to possess her.
Zoe was a valuable commodity, a rarity he wasn’t sure existed inside his world. There were plenty of women he could bed at a moment’s notice, but this was not one of them, and that made her special.
She was a challenge that he wasn’t about to lose. He eased himself from his post at the mantle and sauntered over to the sofa where she stood in ready defense. She looked like she was ready to pounce should he try anything.
“Don’t come near me,” she warned.
“I thought you said you weren’t scared,” he teased, advancing.
“Of course I’m not scared of you.” She laughed.
“Good, now let’s talk about this little vendetta of yours,” he said backing off and returning to his seat.
He could hear Zoe’s sigh of relief as he moved off. She was one feisty thing, but underneath that was a girl scared of getting too close. As he dropped himself into the armchair, he inhaled deeply. His heart was beating out of sync and his blood running hot.
15. Chapter 14
Zoe was scared. Scared that she’d have a heart attack due to the forceful attempt of the organ to break her ribcage. Gael returned to his seat, and she exhaled. Then he turned with a scowl and the heart stopped … just for a second before continuing its uneven beating.
As he sat, he looked at her and remarked, “You are such a cunning little brat, you know that?”
“What?”
“You heard me. This was all a ruse to get back at me, wasn’t it? You’d worm your way under my skin and then drop the bomb,” he said, his voice hardening. He rose from the chair and walked to the sideboard where he picked up a bottle, turned it over in his hand and replaced it. “That act of yours with the sneezing and sniffling was good. Even faked a fever to gain my sympathy. Touché!”
“What? You think I faked being sick so I could get back at you?”
“It’s all clear to me now,” he snarled.
Dumbstruck, she opened her mouth to protest but could not believe he thought her flu was fake. How could he think she targeted him? They’d done nothing but fight since she met him at the airport. He was the one who decided to take her home.
She studied his features, which had gone dark. He picked up the brandy bottle again and poured some in the glass. She watched as he downed the drink in one gulp and slammed the glass on the surface.
Rising from her perch on the sofa, her mind was settled. “Maybe I have overstayed my welcome,” she said in a low tone.
With hastened steps, she headed up the stairs, not thinking her plan through. All she knew was that she could not spend another minute with Gael. With all the bickering and taunting, she never once thought he’d accuse her of manipulating the situation. He was the one to care for her when she was ill, how could he think she faked it to target him?
There was nothing much to pack, so she stuffed whatever was out into her suitcase and pulled on her coat and boots. The heels on her boots were three inches; she should have brought a flatter heel. Disregarding the fact that it might be difficult to trudge through the snow in this, she stomped her way down the stairs, dragging the case behind her.
Of course, the wheels on the darn thing made a racket as they hit each step. She didn’t care. When she reached the living room, she paused, looking at him with all the fierceness riling inside her.
“Merry Christmas, Gael Matheson.”
He stared at her, his deep blue depths glinting, but he said nothing. She left him staring after her as she exited the front door and into the snow. It was difficult pulling her suitcase behind as the ten or so inches of icy fluff hampered her efforts.
Everywhere was white that she had to judge where the street was by estimating the distance between houses. Her view was partially obscured by the density of the falling snow. The main issue now was determining which direction to take. She started moving right as it didn’t matter now because the most important thing was to get as far away from Gael as possible.
She had just made a few steps on her new journey when her suitcase refused to tag along. Turning with a frustrated groan, she gave it a hard yank before realizing what was holding it back.
“Let go of my luggage, you turd!” her voice matched the howling wind that whipped through the air.
“Turd? That’s mature,” he calmly stated. “And stop trying so hard to be tough, we both know you aren’t.”
The spark of anger that was simmering under the surface finally burst into a blazing fire. “Let go!” she screamed, giving the item a hard pull, but lost her balance and ended up on her backside instead.
Gael moved quickly to reach down and yanked her to her feet. But she was having none of that; she pulled away from him and was back on her derriere.
“Stop fussing and come back inside. You don’t want a relapse, now do you?”
“Relapse?” she snorted. “I thought I was faking the whole thing!”
He ignored her snarky tone. “Let’s go; it’s cold out.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“You don’t have a choice,” he replied.
She stood, brushing the icy particles from her coat and squinting her eyes to see through the falling sheets of ice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Gael’s answer was to make one long step toward her. Before she could react, he was lifting her and throwing her over his shoulder. His grip on her was firm while his free hand grabbed the handle of the luggage and lifted it.
“Put me down, or I’ll scream.”
“Scream all you want, all the neighbors know me well. Plus, no one would hear you in this storm,” he casually replied.
“Argh, I hate you Gael Matheson; I really hate you,” she shrieked, pummeling his hard back with her fists while he crunched through the snow. His long legs carried them back to the house in a few strides.
“You can hate me all you want, but do it inside where it’s warm,” he gibed.
He paused a moment to remove her coat, and when she would have bolted, he picked her up and again took her to the living room. Dumping her on the sofa, he gave her a menacing stare, then knelt and removed her boots. “You try leaving again, and I’ll tie you up,” he warned.
“You can’t keep me here.”
“Hell if I can’t. I won’t be responsible for you meeting your death out there.”
With a pout and her wrath boiling over, she rose, gripped the handle of the luggage and brushed past him. When she reached the stairs, she lifted the thing and carried it up. She was opening the bedroom door when someone grabbed her upper arm and spun her around. Her back came up against the passage wall.
A frustrated cry emitted from her. “What now?”
Back to the wall, Gael closed in on her, placing his palms flat on the wall on either side of her head. Raising her eyes in question, they locked with his.
“Don’t you have something to say to me?” he murmured.
His nearness rattled her, and her pulse erupted in a fast gallop. A magnetic force tugged at her, compelling her to him. She shrank away, but her back dug into the wall, making it impossible to flee. He’d closed in a few more inches.
Her stomach f
luttered violently while heat crawled all over her skin. A weird but pleasant sensation presented in her belly bottom.
“I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she stuttered, looking away.
“Zoe.”
“What?” her eyes rested on his Adam’s apple, noting how it moved up and down when he spoke.
“Do you know what it means to get under a man’s skin?”
Of course she knew, but she was damned if she’d admit it. That’s what scared her the freaking most. He had also found a way to get under her skin. His closeness now proved that very fact. She wanted him to get closer, but he was Gael, the man whore jerk! How could she allow him to get into her mind … into her heart?
She shook her head in response, closing her eyes. As she felt him press into her, her lips parted to allow for easy breathing. Then she felt his breath on her cheek.
His murmur caused an upsurge in the wild drumming of her heart. “I think you know.”
She hadn’t recovered from his hot breath on her skin when he pressed his lips to her already scorching cheek. He moved his torrid lips along her jaw, coming to settle at the base of her ear. Now, she could hear her own gasps as she gulped for air.
The electric sensations assuaging her rendered her motionless … weak even. Her mind screamed that she should make a run for it, but her knees were jelly. In addition, she liked the feel of his lips as they nibbled her earlobe and trailed their way back to the corner of her mouth.
“What … gasp … are you doing?” she breathed.
“What does it look like?”
“But, you’ll get my bug,” she replied between gasps.
“I don’t give a fuck about that. I’ve been dying to kiss you since on the plane.”
The moment the last words left his lips, he brushed the corner of her mouth then proceeded to suck on her bottom lip. A whimper escaped her as shockwaves impugned her. He raised his head, and she thought she was free, but she wasn’t.
Gael cupped her face, kissed her eyes, then her nose, and her breath stopped. This wasn’t what she thought he’d do given the chance. She had thought he’d ravage her like a savage, given her impression of him. But the gentleness exuded from him at the moment shocked her so much that she could do nothing but allow the electric charges to continue coursing through her.
The Billionaire X-MAS Wonder: A Billionaire Christmal Novel Page 10
