by Lexy Timms
This was insane. They were about to have sex in the conference room and he didn’t have enough sense to stop. Because he didn’t want to stop.
He didn’t take his eyes off her as she licked her lips. She took his hand, guiding it past the waistband of her pants and her lacy panties until he felt the bare flesh of her sex. His heart hammered in anticipation. She moaned as he gently pressed a finger inside her.
She was hot. Ready for him. So tantalizingly wet.
All he wanted right now was to bury himself inside her. Take her in the conference room until he made her come again.
His phone rang. With a curse he pulled his hand away from her and, without thinking, he answered it. The voice screeching on the other end stopped him in his tracks.
Enough to turn any man’s desire on a dime. Damn it!
His mother.
Chapter 10
She’d never felt so sexually frustrated in her life. One minute she had an intense spark of pleasure shooting through her, and the next minute Dane was answering his bloomin’ phone.
He didn’t look pleased. Actually, he looked downright pissed.
As disappointed as she was, the phone call was probably a blessing in disguise. Getting felt up in the conference room wasn’t exactly the best use of their time right now. Nor was having sex on the large table. She glanced over at it, still tempted. Sheesh! How wanton and desperate could she get? Forcing her gaze back to Dane’s face, and with her last scrap of dignity, she quickly zipped up her pants.
“I didn’t tell the tabloids anything! You’re the one who typically calls them, Mother,” Dane was saying into the phone, exasperation lacing every word.
Her stomach knotted up. Dane’s mother knew about the story. Of course, she did. Which meant she was as good as fired. It didn’t even matter if Dane fought to get her another job, this story in the tabloids would ruin her. She’d forever be the girl Dane Prescott didn’t really marry.
He glanced at her, his typically-bright-blue eyes now dark with some unreadable emotion. “We…we didn’t tell you because we knew you’d react like this.”
Panic flared inside her. What was he telling her? Now his mother would know what a liar she was. Damn it! This was all her fault. If she hadn’t lied to her family, nobody would ever mistake her for a woman dating a man like Dane. He was gorgeous, wealthy, a power player in a city as tough as New York. No way could she compete with the types of women who caught his eye. Soon the whole world would find out how desperate she was. How utterly dishonest.
Allyson had worried about her family discovering she’d lied about Dane. She’d never counted on being humiliated in front of the whole world! Monica, her vindictive, scheming sister would probably be delighted at her downfall.
Inwardly she sighed. She knew she was a disappointment to her family. The one with the less-than-stellar job. The sibling who was still single with very few prospects. Dane, like a knight in shining armor, had defended her at the wedding. Defended her like no one ever had.
For whatever reason, he’d been willing to fight for her. Stand up for her. She didn’t deserve him. Because, no matter how humiliating this was for her, her lies had put him in an untenable position. Prescott needed to avoid scandal if there was a hope of a merger with the Handel Company. That was now ruined. She’d destroyed Dane’s hopes and dreams with her selfish lies.
“Don’t talk about her like that,” he said sharply. “You can’t talk about my wife that way.”
Her eyes widened. His wife? What on earth was he doing?
She needed to stop him. Stop him from throwing his life’s work away to save her job. She waved her arms in his face to try to get his attention, but he only turned away from her to focus on the call.
“All right,” he said grimly. “We’ll be there.” With that, he ended the call and turned to face her.
She realized her mouth was hanging open. She shut it, and then opened it again to ask, “What on earth are you doing?”
He held his hands up. “I know we didn’t come up with a plan, so I had to think on my feet.”
She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. Annoyance ran through her. “You let her think we got married for real?”
“Yes.” He crossed his arms and scowled. “The alternative was throwing you under the bus and telling her we spent the weekend pretending to be a couple.”
Her mouth went dry. Things had gone from bad to worse. His recklessness was good for business, but was now turning her entire life upside down. “Do you have any idea what you’ve gotten us into?”
“You’d rather I tell her that our lies got us into this?” he demanded.
She hesitated. “I don’t know.”
Those blue eyes of his narrowed, and the corners of his sensual mouth turned up in the barest hint of a smile. Allyson had never seen him look so arrogant, so sinfully sexy. Part of her was irritated beyond belief, but most of her was getting all hot and bothered again. “See? I had no choice but to take matters into my own hands.”
“Must you always do this?” she shot back. “Why do you always march in and take charge of everything? First you just had to pay for that fancy lodge. And now you’ve gone and lied to your mother. Without consulting me.”
“So, this is my fault?” His eyes grew hard.
She sighed. She suddenly felt like crying, and blinked back the tears so he wouldn’t see them. “That’s not what I meant.”
Dane leaned against the conference room table, arms still crossed. The movement was fluid, powerful, utterly masculine. He overwhelmed her. Heightened her senses. Despite her frustration, it made her crazy with want and lust. “You didn’t consult me when you lied to your family that I was your boyfriend.”
He really knew how to press her buttons. How to use whatever he had to to get his way.
“I didn’t,” she said finally. “I’m sorry.”
“Look, forget I even brought that up,” he said waving his hand. “That’s behind us. We have to fix our present problem.” He stared at her. “And I have a feeling you’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you.”
She groaned. “This situation can get worse?”
“Depends on your definition of worse.”
“That sounds like corporate talk if ever I heard it.”
“We can fix this. I’m going with the only option I think is going to work.”
She knew him too well. Dane didn’t lose when it came to business. “What did you and your mother discuss?”
“The good news is that I’ve bought us some time with your contract negotiations.”
That was the good news? She wasn’t fired yet? “What’s the bad news?”
He cleared his throat. “Mother has…summoned us up to the family home in Rhode Island. We’re to head up to Prescott Hill, as a married couple.”
“What?” she practically shrieked. “So, not only does your mother think we got married over the weekend, but she wants us to visit her?”
“Tonight, if possible.” His tone was driving her crazy. Most people would have the decency to sound sheepish. Apologetic. Not Dane Prescott. Oh no. He’d never stoop to that. She knew from experience that all his decisions were final.
“Why?” she demanded. To hell with experience. No way was she going to let him get away with this.
“If my mother thinks you’re my wife then I’ll have a card to play. I can easily renew your contract.”
She gasped. “By lying?”
He shrugged. “We didn’t start the lie. The press latched on to some photos and came to the wrong conclusion.”
“What’re we going to do when the press finds out the truth? Or when my family blabs about who really got married?”
“Call your family and the folks up in Greenville. Tell them to lay low and keep this quiet until we give the word. Pay them off if you have to,” he replied dryly.
This was crazy. Completely insane. Her mind swirled with so many emotions. She could just imagine how her sister would reac
t. And her parents. They would be livid about her lie getting so out of control. “What do we do when the truth gets out? You’ll get away with it. Let’s be honest here. But I…I’ll be humiliated.”
He paused. Something stark and possessive flickered in his eyes. “I won’t let that happen. We keep the lie going for the next couple of days, and then I tell the press some story about proposing to you only to have you shoot me down. Broke my heart. That sort of thing.”
“So, more lies.” Her shoulders sagged.
“It’s what’s best for you. And for Prescott Global,” he added gently.
It was one thing for her to be embarrassed, but another for him to have the shame. No one would believe she shot him down. “But you’ll be shamed. I can’t let you go through that. This is my fault.” She hated that she sounded like she was whining. She hated showing weakness to him.
“This is the best thing for all of us. I’ll renew your contract. Prescott will avoid the brunt of a major scandal. And when I’m next spotted with some other heiress, the press will move on from this.”
Some other heiress…a dull pain knifed through her. Of course, he would find someone else. None of this meant anything to him. He still only saw her as his employee. Some invisible assistant he could have his fun with until the next blonde blue blood caught his attention. After they had sex at the lodge he’d hinted at wanting something more, but clearly that something more was closer to a fling than an actual relationship.
Her vision blurred with tears. She lowered her eyes to stare down at the carpet. “Your mother will be furious when she discovers the truth.”
What a fool she had been. She had begged him to go back to the way things were. To pretend that nothing had gone on between them. Allyson knew that one day she’d see him with another woman and it would hurt. But she hadn’t counted on them having to keep up the charade. The longer she spent pretending, the harder it would be to let go of him.
“Yes, but leave her to me,” he said. “All you have to do is play your part until we hammer out the details of your new contract.”
She blinked back the tears and looked back up at him defiantly. “I doubt your mother will be pleased by any of this.”
“When is Mother pleased by anything?” He laughed. “Besides, going to Prescott Hill for a few days will get us away from the press. There aren’t exactly many national tabloids running out of Rhode Island.”
That thought did sound tempting. A day or two away from the craziness she’d just experienced with those reporters might do her some good. “What about work?”
“My parents work from Prescott Hill, and we’ve got executives at headquarters who can handle a few days without me. I don’t think anyone will be surprised if we take off.” He shrugged, and grinned cockily. “It is, after all, our honeymoon.”
She tried to hold back the smile trying to sneak its way in. “I suppose after I make all these phone calls I can head home to pack.”
“Tell you what,” he started. “You make phone calls to your family members, and I’ll make the calls to the Lodge and the Rose Bloom Wedding Barn.”
“Thank you,” she said gratefully.
Dane took a step towards her to plant a warm, unexpected kiss on her forehead. “And after that we’ll take the jet up to Rhode Island; then all we have to do, dear wife, is pretend to be blissfully in love.” His lips brushed against her ear and he added in a husky, low voice, “Maybe throw in a round or two of sex?”
* * *
The flight from New York to Rhode Island was thankfully brief, but Allyson felt nauseated the entire way over and it had nothing to do with the flight. After Dane helped her into the luxury car his parents had sent to pick them up from the airport, he settled into the back seat beside her and the chauffer headed for Prescott Hill.
She clasped her hands tightly, trying to steady her nerves.
Dane placed his large hand over hers. His touch was at once soothing and electrifying. It set her on edge. Calmed her. He affected her in ways she couldn’t understand. “Try to remember to breathe,” he said to her. “My mother can sense nervous energy, and it’s better if you appear confident.”
Swallowing hard, she turned her attention to him. “I know, but I don’t know how to be. How to behave. I don’t know what’s expected of me.”
He gave her a dazzling, disarming smile. “Remember how great you were with the executives from the Handel Company?”
She nodded.
“Try to replicate that. What did you do to charm them?”
“I…I played off of you. You put me at ease.” She smiled weakly.
He took her shaking hand and placed a gold band on her palm. “I thought we’d make it official.”
The sight of the band nearly took her breath away, but she slipped in onto her ring finger wordlessly. She watched as he took another ring out of his pocket and put it on. Then he gazed at her and took her hands in his. His steely stare reminded her that she wasn’t doing this alone. He was by her side, and his strength would see her through this.
When they arrived at Prescott Hill they drove through the open gates and up the inclined driveway, to the brightly-lit property. Dane helped her step out of the car while the chauffer grabbed their bags and headed inside.
It was hard to see the property in the dark, but the lights hinted at the elegance and opulence she’d seen in all those architectural magazines. Prescott Hill was so old it might as well have been a museum. Dane’s great-grandfather had built the mansion at the turn of the twentieth century; in those days, it was just a seaside summer home, not a semi-permanent residence like it was now. His great-grandfather had been one of those robber barons who’d come to America penniless and struck it rich.
His mother’s side of the family had come to America on the Mayflower. To say Dane had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth was an understatement. His family had been wealthy; when his father, Alfred Prescott, started Prescott Global in the 1970s, they became even wealthier. Dane taking over the helm of the company had taken them to new heights.
Looking at the place now, Allyson was reminded that Dane didn’t come from new money like so many of the freshly-minted billionaires in New York. Both sides of his family tree were illustrious.
Impressing his parents seemed like an impossible task. One she hadn’t prepared for. But Dane turned to her, smiled, and took her hand. He led her to the front doors of the mansion.
A butler welcomed them inside the foyer, where two sets of staircases led to the second floor. The foyer was elegantly decorated, complete with a grandfather clock, antique furniture, and a commemorative punchbowl and silver sailing trophy set out on an antique table. Black and white photos adorned the walls; Allyson caught a glimpse of Dane’s father, and other men who looked so much like him that they had to have been his grandfather and great-grandfather.
From there the butler ushered them into a fabulously-decorated living room, complete with sofas upholstered in luxurious navy-blue brocade, nautical-themed paintings, and a large fireplace. The butler announced them, and Dane’s parents, seated on the sofas, rose to their feet.
His mother smiled. A smile that didn’t reach her cold blue eyes. “It’s so wonderful of you two to make it on short notice.” She reached out her hand to Allyson to shake it. “Then again, today has reminded me that everything is on such short notice these days. I’m so glad you’re here. Now I can spend the next few days preparing you for coming out next week. I can’t wait to show you two off at the gala.”
Allyson froze. “Pardon?”
Chapter 11
“I’m sorry but what’s a coming out?” Allyson nearly choked. “What gala?”
“It’s tradition dear,” Dane’s mother, Liliana chided. “Before Dane’s father and I got married, I made my entrance into Rhode Island and New York society. You two seemed to have skipped the pre-nuptial formalities, so we’ll be making up for lost time.” She stared down at Allyson, clearly not impressed.
Dane�
��s father reached out to pull Allyson into a quick hug. “Welcome to our home. And welcome to the family.”
“Thank you,” Allyson stammered. Mr. Prescott had always been friendlier, probably because he had his wife to act like an attack dog on his behalf.
Liliana motioned for them to sit, and Allyson took her seat on the sofa across from them. Dane settled in beside her and took her hand. The warmth of his touch steadied her. No matter how tough this got, she had him beside her and he would have her back. She hoped. It might turn into a survival of the fittest. Billionaire family, social status, coming outs, and galas? She swallowed hard—she didn’t stand a chance.
“You’ve already signed Allyson up for some event?” Dane asked through gritted teeth. “Without our permission?”
His mother waved her hand dismissively. “It’s tradition. Our way of welcoming Allyson into the family. Hardly objectionable. It’s just over a week away.”
Allyson and Dane exchanged worried glances. This was bad. They only wanted to keep up this charade for the next few days at most. Now Dane’s mother was making plans for next week. Not that she could blame her.
“I don’t think I’d be ready in time. And where would I get anything to wear on such short notice?” Allyson asked.
“That’s why you’re here, darling,” Liliana said. “You can spend the next few days here while we teach you as much as we can. Heaven knows if you’ll learn anything.” She ignored Dane as she leaned forward and continued chatting away. “We’ll teach you all the table manners and rules of etiquette you’ll need. After all, you’re a Prescott now. What sort of family would we be if we tossed you out to sea without a life vest?”
Allyson stared at Liliana in horror. There was no way she’d learn all those rules in time. She’d make a complete fool of herself if she went to one of those society balls with less than a week to prepare. Besides, what on earth would they do if the tabloids broke a story with the truth before then? The humiliation would be unbearable. “But—”
