by Lia Lee
"I take it you haven't recognized me yet," he said, not unkindly, and when she shook her head, he smiled.
"I'm Nathan Thomas. I own Thomas Corp, everything from the chair you are sitting in to our three plants scattered throughout the Midwest and the four in the UK."
Natalie blinked because it was better than choking. She had heard about him of course. Who hadn't? Nathan Thomas had been declared one of the most handsome men in the world by People Magazine; there was little doubt that he was one of the richest.
The surrealism of the situation made her shake her head.
"You're Nathan Thomas. And right now, you think you want me to help you?"
The slight smile on his face faded, and he nodded. There was something sharp and businesslike about him then. "I want a child. I want a child of my blood that you are going to bear."
She stared at him, because that simply felt like the newest strange piece in a day that was already a confusing mess. "A child. You want a baby."
He laughed a little at her shocked look.
"Not to eat, I assure you, because from the look on your face, that is what you expect. No. I need a child because, despite my reputation, I do have a certain amount of responsibility to my company and to my family. I need to offer up an heir, a stake in the future. It is something that my ancestors were very firm on, and unfortunately, they have given me the same ideas."
Natalie hesitated. "You know...there are more standard ways of having a baby."
"Oh? Do tell."
"Well, um, you could get married and..." She stopped when the twinkle in his blue eyes told her he was making fun of her.
"Let's put it this way. Doing things the standard way is not something that works well for me. My last attempt to do things the standard way ended in me getting slapped in a very fancy restaurant.
"No, I think it needs to be this way. You'll get money that will change your life, and I will get the child that will be raised to continue my family's legacy."
"This is insane," Natalie said, shaking her head. She started to rise from her chair. "I can't imagine why..."
She stifled a cry when Nathan was suddenly in front of her, blocking her way, his eyes a bright and piercing blue. For such a big man, he was fast, and she almost fell back in shock.
"Is it truly?" he asked her challengingly. "We are both people with wants, and we both have the ability to have those needs met. That's not insane. That's...the only logical choice."
She started to answer, but then his hand was coming up, touching her cheek with a feather-light pressure. For some reason, his touch stopped her in her tracks, sending a deep warmth through her. It was like stepping into a warm bath after a chilly day. It was like nothing she had ever felt before.
He felt it too, she knew, because he jerked his hand away. He didn't step back, however. For a moment, they simply stared at each other, and then, tentatively, he reached for her again.
Natalie took a step back, because God only knew what it would do to her to feel that shock again. She thought she was going to shout at him to find someone else who would breed for him, but what came out shocked her even more.
"Would you love it? The child, I mean. Son or daughter, would you love them?"
Nathan's reply was instantaneous.
"I would love them with all my heart," he said, and she felt herself relax. She had never thought that she was one of life's great detectives when it came to people's motives. Right then, however, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man was telling the truth. He was going to love his child.
After that, what else mattered?
"All right," she breathed, hardly able to believe herself.
"All right?" he asked. "What does that mean exactly?"
She couldn't help feeling slightly like a doe cornered by the hungry mountain lion. She knew this was her last chance to get off of this wild ride. Otherwise...
"It means that I consent. I agree. I am going to have your baby, and you are going to pay me two million dollars for it."
Nathan's blue eyes lit up with a kind of triumph that made something inside her very nervous, but he only nodded cordially.
"Good. The papers are in a folder on the table there. If you like, you can have a lawyer look them over, but I assure you that everything is aboveboard."
Natalie found herself laughing just a little bit. "Man, if you think I have the ability to hire a lawyer, you did less research than you thought."
The papers were simple even to her. In exchange for two million dollars, she would give him a child and relinquish all claims to it. The idea of giving up a child that she had borne made her a little queasy, but she thought of Nathan's fierce look when she had asked him if he would love it. She knew their child would be well-taken care of, even if she was not going to be the one to do it. There was even a clause where she could bow out of the arrangement any time until the pregnancy was confirmed.
With a deep breath, Natalie signed her name underneath Nathan's scrawling signature, and then she looked up. He was standing by the window, ostensibly looking out over the city, but she noticed something.
"You can quit looking at me in the reflection," she said, trying a slight smile of her own. "I signed."
The billionaire seemed torn. He obviously wanted to come and check, and at the same time, he seemed to want to remain as aloof as he ever was. Finally, he couldn't seem to help himself. He came to look at the papers, confirming that her name and signature were in the right places. Natalie smiled at him, a little braver.
Is there anything else, Mr. Thomas?" she asked.
He turned to her, and she only had a moment to remark on the hungry look in his eyes before he took her in his arms.
"Only one more thing," he growled, and then his head dipped down to hers.
The kiss he gave her was a hungry thing, almost wolf-like. She could feel his strength in his grasp, feel the power that ran through his body like a river. His mouth on hers was hot and demanding, and for a moment, she thought she would fight him, that she had to. Then his tongue breached her lips, and she was swept away on a tide of sensuality, something that threatened to drown her if she didn't hang on to him with all her strength.
Natalie had been kissed before, and she had slept with men before. Nothing she had ever felt rivaled this torrent of passion. Nothing came close. She had never felt as if liquid fire were dancing through her body, demanding that she push closer and closer to this man or else she might die. The force of the sensations flowing through her made her desperate, and it might have made her afraid, if there was any room in her at all for fear.
They were in some kind of eternal embrace. When Nathan finally pulled away, she felt shocked at the idea that it was still the same day, still the same hour when he had grabbed her.
He still held her loosely in his arms, but Natalie pushed him away. She checked her clothes, slightly surprised to find that they were still whole, and looked up at him.
"Why did you do that?" she asked through lips that were slightly sensitive from their passion.
The grin that Nathan gave her, slow and as hot as the surface of the sun, made her heart beat faster.
"Because I wanted to see if we should start with artificial insemination or whether we should try it the old-fashioned way. I think the old-fashioned way would be the best for this situation, don't you agree?"
It took Natalie's passion-clouded mind a moment before she realized what he was saying. When it did, she blushed even harder, making Nathan laugh.
"God, you think you're so funny," she muttered, and he nodded.
"I suppose I do. But trust me when I say I don't mean to make fun. But after that...well, I think we're going to have a fine time fulfilling the agreement, don't you?"
***
Two hours later, Nathan stood in his office gazing out over the city. He had been born in Dublin, as all the men of his family had been, and he had grown up in a variety of boarding schools all over the world. He was comfortable on al
most every continent, and for the last few years, he had made Chicago into his base of operations.
He was a little startled to realize that he didn't want to stay in Chicago, not with Natalie Baker. He had never minded the skyscrapers and the cold grays of the city's winters before, but now he found he did. Perhaps she would enjoy the warmth of the hotel in Greece or even the wild, tropical warmth of the property in Buenos Aires.
Even as he pondered those thoughts, he shook them off. He had to acknowledge the first thing that had sped through his mind when he had laid eyes on Natalie's brilliant green gaze.
It was time to go home.
London first, perhaps, then...well, he had been away from Ireland for too long. His family was gone, but his country wasn't, and Nathan wondered if he could hear it calling him.
All over a beautiful girl's green eyes, he thought, shaking his head at himself.
He knew that to some extent, he was thinking about Ireland and where he could take her because it kept him from thinking about the girl herself. Of course, he had thought she was attractive when he’d had the detectives learn more about her. The unobservant would take in her slight build, her habit of ducking her head and avoiding eye contact, and would declare her plain. They would miss the elegance of her spare body, the way her brown hair was shot with red and gold, and they might entirely overlook her eyes, which gleamed like emeralds when she was angry.
No, he had suspected that he would find Natalie quite to his taste.
What he hadn't expected was the flash of need that had filled him when he’d touched her cheek and again when they had kissed. Nathan knew he had never felt anything like that, and the craving that had awoken in him was something almost terrifying in its strength.
Be honest with yourself, he told himself wryly. One of the reasons he had chosen Natalie Baker was because she was so different from the women he usually fell in with. She was subtle in her beauty. There were no hard edges to her, no wildness and willfulness. It would be easy to separate out his need for a child of his blood from the emotional entanglements that so many women threw around him.
Now that he had kissed her, however, Nathan wasn't sure of anything.
There's nothing wrong with feeling the way we do if we keep it under control, Nathan reasoned to himself. We have a contract, we have a plan. If we stick to the plan, it'll be fine.
The words comforted him, and he picked up his phone, ready to make the calls that would set his plans into action.
There was a voice at the back of his head, however, that demurred. If she hadn't agreed to the contract, he would have found some other way to stay with her, to kiss her again, to make sure that heat between them was a real thing and not something he had just made up. Now that he had found her, he didn't want to let her go. He wasn't sure if he could.
Chapter Three
Natalie's two days of travel had been eye-opening. She had never left the Midwest in her life, let alone flown internationally, and she had certainly never imagined flying like Nathan flew.
"I have a few things to tidy up here, but then I will be joining you in London," he said over the phone. "I'll send a car for you on Wednesday."
"What time?" she asked, and he’d laughed.
"Whenever you're ready. I own the plane."
She was sure it was a dream when she hesitantly climbed the portable staircase to enter the personal jet. It was pure luxury inside, from the plush seats to the small bedroom suite at the rear. The flight attendant was a beautiful young woman with a gracious air who was determined to help Natalie enjoy her flight, and Natalie was far too shy to do more than meekly request water and perhaps a magazine.
The driver in London picked her up in a car that she was fairly sure was actually a Rolls Royce and dropped her off in front of an elegant townhouse, pressing a key into her hand.
Natalie wasn't sure what she was expecting when she entered, but the townhouse took her breath away. Since her “interview,” she had read magazine articles about Nathan, and a part of her was expecting some kind of modern monstrosity, all chrome and distressed leather, too much light and far too many bold colors. Instead, she found herself in a home that was classically furnished, dark wood and wool furnishings everywhere. The odd woven Indian textile gave the place color and life, but there was something so soothing about the townhouse that she immediately felt at home.
It was the work of a moment to deposit her single bag in the small room that she had decided was to be her own and to enjoy a hot shower in the startlingly luxurious en suite bathroom. She should have been tired from her flight, but instead, Natalie found herself curiously investigating the home, restless enough to poke into all of the odd corners. It was beautiful, and it was certainly cozy, but there was something standoffish about it as well.
It’s because no one truly lives here, she thought. It might have been a place that Nathan enjoyed, but there were no inhabitants to give the townhouse life.
If she thought about Nathan, who was due to arrive in a few hours’ time, she knew she would likely grow too nervous to do much of anything, so for now, she pushed the thought away.
A quick search on her phone showed there was a flower market nearby, and after double checking the directions, she was off on foot.
This doesn't have to be so bad, she told herself. I'm still me. I'll control what I can, and the rest...well, we'll see about the rest, won't we?
***
Nathan came off of the flight from Chicago feeling far more tired and cross than he should. He hadn't slept well over the last few days, and he was out of sorts.
Time to admit I'm not twenty anymore, I suppose, he thought with a flinch.
Even through the irritation with London traffic, there was a part of him that wanted to see Natalie again. He wanted to find out if they had the same chemistry he had encountered when they’d first met. Would she arouse the same instinct within him? Would she respond to him the same way she had before?
He told himself that it was only kind to be patient with her, but there was something about her that made him want to pounce on her instead, as if she were a delectable little morsel that would get away too soon.
The traffic in London was even worse than he had remembered, however, and by the time he made it to the townhouse, he was starved and sore, tired in a way that made bed sound more like heaven than it should.
God, I should just fall into bed and deal with it all tomorrow.
His masculine pride was pricked at that, and there was a hunger in him that growled threateningly at the idea. He felt as if he should be unnerved at the part of himself that hungered so remorselessly for the girl that he had only met a short time ago, but instead it just felt natural.
When the driver let him off at the townhouse, Nathan had a moment of confusion. The house was lit up, which it never was before he arrived. Of course, it was foolish to think that Natalie would sit around in the dark, but something about the warm house appealed to him.
Nathan got his second surprise when he came in through the front door. The house itself was pleasant, as it always was, but he was also met with a large bouquet of cheerful white daisies on the narrow table in the entryway. They were plain and bright, a touch that made the rest of the house even more welcoming, and almost against his will, Nathan smiled.
He found Natalie herself curled up on the love seat in the living room, her phone almost falling out of her curled hand.
Poor thing looks tuckered out. I really should let both of us sleep...
He started to take the phone from her before it could fall, but he found he couldn't stop himself from tracing the curve of her cheek, touching the point of her chin. She had a quiet beauty, he decided, something almost secret, and the hunger for her awoke again.
Just as Nathan was pulling away, her bright green eyes opened. Nathan would have thought that seeing him would have made her startled or afraid, but after a brief moment of confusion, she lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Oh, you're here
at last," she said with a smile. "I called your secretary, and she said you would be late, but she didn't say how late..."
"Traffic, and there were some problems with takeoff in O'Hare," Nathan said vaguely. "You've been busy."
"Oh...the flowers, you mean?" She laughed a little self-consciously. "They're silly, aren't they? I know you’re probably used to something a bit more dignified, but I saw the daisies, and they just looked so pretty."
"They're fine," he said with a slight smile. "You're doing better than I am. I figured I'd come in and find you exhausted and dead to the world."
"I am a little. But I talked with your secretary, Brooke? She's really nice, by the way. She said you had a rough day, and you would be doing all the traveling I was doing, and... Oh!"
"Oh?"
Nathan stood back as she got up and trotted to the kitchen. He had owned the property for almost four years, and he didn't think he had ever been to the kitchen.
"There's food! I figured you would be hungry, and there's nothing in the refrigerator. I hope you don't mind, I ordered a little bit of everything."
Nathan watched, bemused, as she tugged a large paper bag out from the oven. At the kitchen table, ignoring the dining room a short distance away, Natalie pulled out a variety of small plastic containers and foil packets. The oven had kept everything satisfactorily warm, and the smells, redolent of garlic, curry, roast tomato and fried flatbreads, made his mouth water.
He hadn't moved from his place by the door, and Natalie looked up at him, a cloud of worry over her face.
"I mean...I paid for all of this, flowers and food," she said, surprisingly meekly. "Did I do wrong?"
Nathan realized a bit wryly that part of his shock came from simply seeing a woman provide like this for him. He liked providing, he liked giving women things to make them smile. The last time one had so much as offered to order food for them had been lost to memory.
"You did just fine," he said, coming to sit at the table. When she looked nervous, he took her hand and tugged her into the chair next to him. The same warm spark leaped between them, but right now, he was willing to ignore it in favor of the food in front of him.
