by Jess Dee
His secretary’s office left her with no doubt that Riley had spent a small fortune on furniture and art. Beautiful paintings hung on the walls. On one side of the room, a glass and cherry-wood coffee table framed an expensive-looking Persian rug, and navy leather couches trimmed its edges.
On the other side, a capable-looking woman of forty-plus sat behind a matching cherry-wood desk. Genevieve, Riley’s secretary. The only person Lexi had had any contact with from Riley Corporation.
“May I help you?” she asked.
“Lexi Tanner. I’m here to see AJ Riley.”
“His four o’clock.” Genevieve nodded and motioned Lexi to the leather couches. “Please take a seat, and I’ll let him know you’ve arrived.”
Lexi sat as the woman knocked on and then disappeared through a huge oak door. Anticipation hummed in her veins. This was it. The waiting was over.
What would Riley be like?
Domineering and to the point? Kind and gentle? Unfocused and occupied with other matters? Would he smooth down his beard while he listened? Remove his glasses when he spoke? Smile when she told him about the program?
Would he even be interested in what she had to say?
“Miss Tanner?” She hadn’t noticed Genevieve return. “Mr. Riley will see you now. He’s just taken a call, but you can go on in and take a seat.” She showed Lexi into his office and shut the door behind her.
A panoramic view through two enormous corner windows almost bowled Lexi over. It was uninterrupted across the city, over the bridge and onto the North Shore. From where she stood, she could see the ferries gliding past the Opera House and into Circular Quay.
Riley sat at his desk with his back to her. His black leather chair faced the window. All she could see of him was the top of his head.
She took a minute to inspect his office.
His desk was made from the same wood that had been used in his secretary’s office. It dominated the room. Leather-bound volumes of books filled a matching bookcase. Another expensive-looking rug covered the floor, and more beautiful paintings framed the walls. She recognized each of them as originals, and it came as a surprise to find she and Riley shared a similar taste in art. The difference? She had to make do with prints.
The office was neat and ordered. From the sleek Mac on his desk to the glass-doored wall unit across the room, everything appeared spick-and-span. It also shouted out control freak. There wasn’t a paper to be seen or a pen lying around. Everything had its place, and quite obviously, everything was in its place.
As instructed, she took a seat in a matching chair on the opposite side of his desk. Lexi didn’t consider herself short, yet the chair engulfed her. Riley must be tall if she could see the back of his head over the high headrest of the chair. Like the pictures, his hair was dark as sin and looked thick and luxurious—much like her stranger’s had.
She idly wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through it. Would it have the same silky texture as his had?
Don’t even go there. She was here to ask for money. Thinking about stroking his hair hardly seemed appropriate.
She’d take out the proposal and be prepared to launch into discussion as soon as he put down the phone. As she retrieved it from her bag, something in the air gave her pause for thought, and she stopped and inhaled deeply.
A familiar scent teased her nose. It had since she’d first stepped inside. She recognized it but wasn’t sure where from. The subtle, masculine aroma permeated her senses and tugged at her mind, enticing her to recall a memory that was out of reach. Her body stirred, responding to the sultry scent. So much for suppressing the nipple stand.
She stared sightlessly ahead, lost in thought, trying to place the memory. A sense of longing filled her. Her longtime companion, loneliness, returned, as strong as it had been in Melbourne the morning after. The scent filled her nose, familiar and alluring, making that emptiness seem a million times worse.
“What about the Lewin Deal?” Riley asked into the phone, yanking Lexi’s attention back to the office.
His voice was low, deep and throaty, and the second he spoke she knew she’d heard it before. She also knew she’d never expected to hear it again. The air in the office seemed to thin, and Lexi found breathing difficult.
Inhale.
Her lungs constricted, and oxygen couldn’t fill them fast enough. The blood drained from her face, her stomach dropped into her knees, and she gripped the arms of the chair so tight her knuckles went into spasm.
Oh. Dear. God.
“Fine, make it Tuesday.”
Fine. Let’s do it.
Miniscule bumps shivered up her neck. It wasn’t possible.
“Good. See you then.” He swiveled his chair around and placed his phone on the desk.
Bizarrely, her first thought upon seeing his face was that AJ Riley no longer sported a beard. And he did not have a kind smile.
Unmistakable ice-blue eyes appraised her. “Miss Tanner, I presume?” His tone was cold, not warm and honeyed like she remembered. His mouth was set in grim lines, harsh and unforgiving, not full and swollen from her kisses. His eyes were distant and condescending, not heated and hungry like before.
“You.” The word ripped through her throat. Disbelief echoed in her ears.
Her nameless lover was AJ Riley?
“You were expecting someone else?”
Shock rendered her speechless. She’d slept with AJ Riley. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts to track him down, she’d unwittingly slept with him.
“You seem surprised.”
She gaped at him. Surprised? Flabbergasted, more like it. Gobsmacked, astounded, and dumbfounded to boot. Not to mention thrown so far off-balance the entire office block spun.
What was she supposed to do now? She was never meant to see this man again. The pure anonymity of their encounter had led her to do things with him she’d never have done under ordinary circumstances. She’d masturbated in front of him. Shamelessly begged him to fuck her.
Now she sat across from him in his office, about to beg again. Only this time it was for money.
Nausea rose in her stomach. She did the math and, for once, one and one did not make two. They added up to her looking like a prostitute.
Spots danced before her eyes, and she prayed she wouldn’t pass out. She’d embarrassed herself in front of him enough already.
“Do you plan on speaking, Miss Tanner?”
He was so cold. And distant. Not to mention rude. The man she’d made love with hadn’t been like this.
How could she blame him? If she thought she looked like a hooker, she could only imagine what he thought. Trying in vain to pull her thoughts together, she straightened her back and considered what to say.
Something else bothered her, something other than her complete and utter humiliation.
“I believe you’re here to ask for a donation?”
She tried to focus on his words. What bothered her? It was there, trapped somewhere in her subconscious. If she could just access it…
Think, Tanner.
“Would you care to tell me a little about your…needs?”
There was no mistaking the innuendo in his question. He knew all about her…needs.
His tone was aloof, expressionless, and didn’t sound at all like it had in her hotel room. Then it had been warm and sensual. When he’d whispered his carnal wishes in her ear, it had been low and roughened by desire. When he’d lost himself in the throws of a wild orgasm and called out her name, it had been hoarse and hot and completely unrestrained. When…
Oh, hell. That was it.
She’d thought he hadn’t known her identity…but he’d called out her name.
“Oh my God.” She surged to her feet, her movement so fast and fierce she knocked the chair over. It landed with a resounding crash on the carpeted floor. “You knew who I was all along.”
“Of course I did.”
She gaped at him. “You knew? Right from that first moment
in the lobby? And you never had the decency to tell me?” Adrenaline pulsed through her system, spurred on by shock. “You slept with me without so much as hinting at your familiarity?”
He assessed her with a cold gaze. “Do you think I’d sleep with someone I don’t know?”
She snapped her mouth shut. “Considering I’d never met you before, I have no idea what you would or wouldn’t do. But based on that night in Melbourne, I assumed you had no problem sleeping with someone you didn’t know.” She shook her head, both in disbelief and in dismay. “Obviously, I was wrong.”
“Obviously, you were. Interesting you’d judge me on my silence when you never mentioned you knew me, either.”
Confused, she stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“You made this appointment weeks ago. You knew exactly who I was.”
“Until one minute ago, I knew what AJ Riley looked like only through hazy press photos.” She regarded his sculpted face and smooth skin. “You’re supposed to have a beard.”
“Men shave, Miss Tanner. Beard or not, you recognized me. Then you took advantage of our unexpected meeting to seduce me before approaching me for money.”
Horror at his low opinion of her filled her veins. “You think I’m capable of such despicable behavior? You think I’d stoop so low?”
“I have no idea what you would or wouldn’t do.” He threw her words back at her.
It burned that he’d spend a spectacular night with her and assume the worst. “It’s ironic you’d cast judgment so easily, when you didn’t seem to have a problem sleeping with me, knowing I’d be asking you for a donation.”
“Don’t misunderstand me. I might have known who you were, but I had no idea you’d scheduled an appointment to see me. I only learned that when I got back to Sydney.”
At which point, he must have made his assumptions about why she’d spent the night with him.
With as much decorum as she could muster, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and looked him dead in the eye. “Contrary to what you might believe, I didn’t sleep with you for money. Had I known who you were, things would never have…taken the turn they did. If you could put the night behind us and move on, I’d be grateful.”
He didn’t bat an eyelid. “So why did you sleep with me?”
Why did he think? Because she couldn’t keep her hands off him, that’s bloody why. “Look, the night was what it was. A hook up with a stranger, nothing more. I hid nothing from you. Now, about the pro—”
“You wouldn’t be the first to use sex for money.”
Of all the asshole-ish things to say. Rage bubbled menacingly in her stomach. “What kind of arrogant mind jumps to such a twisted conclusion?”
“Temper, temper, Miss Tanner.”
“‘Miss Tanner’?” she hissed. “You were yelling my name that night, and now you feel the need for formalities?”
As if unaffected by her outburst, his voice dropped to the husky tone that had driven her wild. “As I recall, I wasn’t the only one screaming.”
Unbelievable. The man had her as furious as she’d ever been, and his words still felt like a hot caress against her icy skin. Un-bloody-believable.
Lexi considered strangling him. Putting her hands around his throat and choking the last breath out of him.
She breathed deep, biting back a vicious retort. A small voice in the back of her head reminded her she was in his office as a representative of the hospital. Swearing at him wouldn’t be professional. Neither would murdering him. Warranted, but not professional. Unfortunately.
“I screamed because our time together was good.” Better than good. “But what you’re doing now, implying I used sex as a means to an end, a means to encourage you to give me money…” She shuddered. “It cheapens a beautiful night.”
“You’re suggesting you didn’t sleep with me for money?” The disbelief was evident in his mocking tone.
“I’m telling you flat-out I didn’t. No matter how important this sponsorship may be.”
“It’s almost sweet how noble you seem.”
Could he be a bigger asshole? “I’m not here to be sweet or noble. I came to ask you to fund a program that could benefit thousands of kids across the state.”
“You assume I’d consider granting you the funds after your deception?”
“I was hoping you had a human side that would support the program. I can see now how very wrong I was.”
He said nothing, merely gazed at her with a blank expression.
Her stomach sank. He didn’t need to speak. It was evident he had no interest in the program or its sponsorship. AJ Riley wasn’t going to give her the money.
All her efforts, all her energies, all the time she’d focused…wasted.
Riley wasn’t the saint she’d believed him to be. He neither looked nor acted like the man of her idealistic musings. This cold, callous shell of a person wouldn’t give her project the time of day.
Without the sponsorship, the sibling program was doomed.
The thought of spending another minute in his company suddenly exhausted her. She had to get out of his office. In the space of a few minutes, he’d shattered her hopes for the program—the work that meant more than anything to her—and he’d killed every beautiful memory of their night together. To top it all, her body was still fiercely aware of him, his masculinity and his presence.
It was time to leave.
Using every ounce of dignity she possessed, which, considering the circumstances, was not very much, she straightened the chair she’d knocked over.
Her sense of gloom and humiliation mingled with the need for self-preservation, and as she replaced the papers she’d removed from her briefcase, she looked at Riley. In Melbourne she’d felt safe with him. Cared for. Secure.
She felt none of that today.
“For the record, I slept with a stranger in Melbourne.”
“You’re asking me to believe you had no idea who I was?” The lines around his mouth tightened.
“Believe whatever you want.” She no longer possessed the energy to care.
“I saw the recognition in your eyes as soon as you looked up at me in the lobby.”
She looked at him sharply. Riley was half right. She had recognized something then. Only it wasn’t his identity. It was her immediate, overwhelming attraction to him.
She’d hardly grant him the satisfaction of confessing that now. “I had no idea who you were.” She closed her bag and prepared to leave. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I apologize for wasting your time.” Her voice sounded eerily normal. “I’ll show myself out.”
“You’re leaving?” He looked surprised.
“You’re not the man I thought you to be, and it’s obvious you want no part in the sibling program. There’s really no point in my taking up any more of your day.” She walked to the door. “Good-bye, Mr. Riley. It’s been…enlightening getting to know you at last.”
…
AJ, you can be a real asshole when you want to be.
He was castigating himself before the door had closed.
Sure, he’d needed to get Lexi the hell out of his office, and out of his life, but did he have to act like such a dickhead?
Why hadn’t he politely referred her to Matt, who usually dealt with charities and donations anyway?
Because Lexi Tanner scared the crap out of him. She threatened the new life he’d created, where his emotions and memories were held together with haphazard stitches, fragile enough to snap at the slightest provocation.
He’d attempted to get Lexi out of his system by sleeping with her. But sharing her hotel bed hadn’t cured his eternal hard-on. Memories of their time together plagued him. He spent every available second consumed by thoughts of being with her. Not just being naked together—although those did take up a substantial amount of time—images of them fully dressed, too. Them together doing everyday things.
Worst of all, he imagined her sitting with her feet curled under
her on the lounger on the balcony of his holiday home, talking to him. Because Lexi made him want to do that. Stay home and spend time with her.
She fascinated him. Sent his thoughts skittering to the proverbial family home with the white picket fence and the two-point-five children. Which was why he’d behaved like a jerk and scared her away. He wasn’t interested in any of that. Not anymore.
Lexi’d had no idea who he was in Melbourne, and AJ knew it. There was no excuse for the way he’d spoken to her.
Ah, crap.
He jumped up and took off for the lift. Maybe he could catch her before she left. He tore past Genevieve’s desk.
“What on…” The door slammed behind him, cutting off the rest of his secretary’s stunned question.
“Wait!” He reached the elevators in time to see the doors closing. “Damn it, Lexi, wait.” Shoving his hand through the microscopic gap, he prayed to God it didn’t get mashed to a bloody pulp. As the doors touched his skin, he let rip with a steady stream of uninhibited cursing.
Much to his relief, the doors slid open again in the nick of time, leaving his hand very much intact. He marched into the lift and found her eyeing him cautiously. She eased the pressure off the door open button and hit G.
He hit door open. Christ, she was beautiful. Loathing radiated from her in waves, and she still took his breath away. He wanted to touch her again. Needed to touch her. So he attacked instead.
A nasty pounding began above his right eye. “What kind of game are you playing?”
“I don’t play games,” she said through clenched teeth. “I outgrew that kind of behavior a long time ago.” She hit G.
He held down door open. “Then what exactly are you doing here?” The throbbing intensified.
Migraine?
“You know the answer. I approached Riley Corporation for a donation, but I’ve changed my mind. No matter how determined I am to set up this program, I won’t be accused of prostituting myself for your money.”
Pain shot up his neck and into his skull.
She hadn’t prostituted herself. She hadn’t had the foggiest idea who he was. “Look, can we talk? Please? Contrary to what I may have implied, I actually am interested in the project. I’d like to put money toward it.”
