An Act of Persuasion

by Stephanie Doyle

  For all the wrong reasons?

  Anna Summers has always been more than Ben Tyler’s assistant. She’s even been more than his best friend. Too bad Ben didn’t realize it until after she quit. Now that he’s more like his old self after facing off against a life-threatening illness, he’s ready to win Anna back.

  Of course, it’s not simple. One night Ben broke his own rule about getting involved with an employee. And now Anna is pregnant. She refuses to let him use the baby as a reason for them to reconcile. It will take an act of persuasion to convince her they belong together…and not only because of the baby.

  “We’re going to be its parents.”

  Ben spoke with authority, as if everything was already worked out. “Of course I’m going to be part of its life.”

  “Right. We’ll need to work out the details of how that happens.” Even if she and Ben were finished, Anna had no intention of keeping father and child apart.

  He let her hand go and stood. “Anna, I don’t think you get it. I’m not talking about some bargain where we split this child’s time between us.”

  Not letting him intimidate her, she stood, too, and got in his face. “If you think for one second I’m going to let you take my child—”

  “Calm down.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Your face is turning red. I’m not taking the child. You’re not keeping the child. We’re raising the child. Together. Anna, you’re going to marry me.”

  The words hit her in the face like a slap. He wanted her to marry him. How completely and totally awful. She had only one response to his proposal.

  “No way.”

  Dear Reader,

  For any readers who read my October 2012 book One Final Step, you probably saw Anna and Ben’s story coming. Actually when I thought of the stories for the characters associated with the Tyler Group, I always imagined doing Anna and Ben’s story last. But I just couldn’t wait to write their happily ever after.

  I have always loved boss/secretary stories, and in some ways this fits that bill. What’s different about Anna and Ben’s story is that they have to make their relationship work after the ties of business are behind them.

  They had the easy camaraderie between two people who knew how to get along inside the confines of the office. But now they have to see if they can take that working relationship and turn it into something more personal. I can promise you it isn’t the easiest transition, but hopefully well worth the ride.

  I always fall a little in love with my characters. In this case I’ve gotten to know Anna and Ben over two stories, which makes their journey and their happily ever after that much more satisfying for me. I hope you enjoy them, as well.

  I love to hear from readers, so if you want to talk about the book you can reach me at www.stephaniedoyle.net.

  Happy reading!

  Stephanie Doyle

  An Act of Persuasion

  Stephanie Doyle

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Stephanie Doyle, a dedicated romance reader, began to pen her own romantic adventures at age sixteen. She began submitting to Harlequin Books at age eighteen and by twenty-six her first book was published. Fifteen years later she still loves what she does, as each book is a new adventure. She lives in South Jersey with her cat, Lex, and her two kittens, who have taken over everything. When she isn’t thinking about escaping to the beach, she’s working on her next idea.

  Books by Stephanie Doyle

  HARLEQUIN SUPERROMANCE

  1773—THE WAY BACK

  1810—ONE FINAL STEP

  SILHOUETTE ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

  1554—SUSPECT LOVER

  1650—THE DOCTOR’S DEADLY AFFAIR

  SILHOUETTE BOMBSHELL

  36—CALCULATED RISK

  52—THE CONTESTANT

  116—POSSESSED

  Other titles by this author available in ebook format.

  Don’t miss any of our special offers. Write to us at the following address for information on our newest releases.

  Harlequin Reader Service

  U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

  Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

  As promised, Christy, you’re last but never least.

  To a bright future!

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  Excerpt

  CHAPTER ONE

  Twelve weeks, 3 days ago

  DEATH SUCKED. Ben Tyler leaned his head against his office chair and closed his eyes while he considered his fate. The leukemia was winning and it pissed him the hell off. As a man who had control over his thoughts and emotions—typically two difficult things to rein in—losing control over his body wasn’t sitting particularly well with him.

  He was angry, he was irritated and, worse…he was scared.

  He’d spent four days and nights in a cave halfway up the side of a rock cliff in Afghanistan being ruthlessly hunted by Taliban forces.

  Cakewalk compared to this.

  Because there he had some control. He could hide his tracks, he could shoot his attackers, he could plan his silent escape. He controlled whether he lived or died, not some damn disease.

  That’s why he made this decision. His doctor agreed.

  Anna wasn’t going to like it. Of course, he had no intention of telling his executive assistant—the title she preferred to be called rather than a mere assistant—anything until it was too late.

  Anna would get emotional. Anna would look up studies then quote medical research and statistics. Anna would call the people who worked for him and tell them to change his mind. But his mind was set. Since she was living in his house now, seeing to both his personal and professional needs, it would be hard to avoid her finding out. However, for a few days he could manage to keep this secret.

  He was particularly good at keeping secrets. His CIA training and his ability to endure water boarding proof of that.

  At this point, nothing would change his mind. He was done with this disease. Done with letting it control him. It was time for him to take charge. Once that happened, the fear went away.

  The sliding wood door opened and a familiar redhead popped in. Anna’s hair was always messy and moving about her face. He couldn’t say why that bothered him but it did. Especially when she told him her hair stylist cut it that way with intent.

  “Hey, you want to watch a movie or something tonight?”

  “No.”

  He’d made a life or death decision. Something as silly as watching a movie didn’t make the cut on the list of things he wanted to do right now.

  Of course it wasn’t her fault. She thought he was only gearing up for a second round of chemotherapy in the coming weeks. She didn’t know that he was ready to bypass that step and go directly…to the end.

  Cure it or die. That seemed much simpler to him.

  The stem cell transplantation was his secret to hold on to. He knew it was a risk without a genetic match. Anna had already diligently searched for potential matches, finding no one closer than a second cousin who lived in Boston. And while Ben was listed in the donor-matching program,
so far there had been no hits close enough.

  Turns out his particular DNA was rather unique.

  That’s where the risk came in. Without a genetic match the threat of Graft-Versus-Host disease was very high. If contracted, the GVHD could kill him before the cancer had a chance to.

  Only, science was always evolving and making new discoveries. An alternative to a match was to use stem cells from a newborn’s umbilical cord. The theory was the host body was less likely to reject the new cells.

  After a severe round of chemotherapy to kill all remaining leukemic cells, the stem cells would be injected to help stimulate new cell growth. If his body accepted the foreign cells, it could cure him of the leukemia.

  If his body didn’t, it could kill him.

  “Okay, no movie. We know how you love the TV shows I like to watch so that’s out. How about I read to you? You like that.”

  He did like it when she read to him. The last thing he felt like doing when he was nauseated was reading, and something about the sound of her voice soothed him. But he didn’t feel sick now. Instead he felt edgy.

  He rose and walked over to his fireplace. It was early spring and still mostly chilly in Philadelphia. Although it could be a hundred degrees outside and he doubted he would feel warm. His internal thermostat was always off now and he found himself constantly cold. Except when a flash of heat would come over his whole body leaving him drenched in sweat.

  Seriously, how did women live with this for years?

  “How about Nelson DeMille?” Anna was browsing the bookshelves that encompassed one full wall of his office. “You like him.”

  Ben watched as she bent to one of the lower shelves to search for the book she had in mind. The M row was second from the bottom toward the left. It wasn’t like she was being intentionally provocative, he knew that, but it seemed as though her ass was just there dancing in front of his face. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants as she normally did around the house. Yoga was something she was forever trying to talk him into doing.

  As if he had any desire to stand on his head.

  She claimed it was relaxing and would be good for his mental state. She also believed staying physically active in any way he could while he went through treatment would be beneficial. Truthfully, he thought she was full of it and the only reason she cared for the activity at all was because it gave her the opportunity to wear pajamas all day and still call them active gear.

  Whatever the hell that meant.

  Even now he could see very clearly the demarcation line of her panties beneath the stretchy material. He had a sudden image of himself standing behind her and putting his hand on her ass and holding her hips while pulling the stretchy material down and away…

  “…okay?”

  He blinked. She’d said something and he hadn’t heard it. Instead he’d been lost in a sexual fantasy involving Anna.

  Anna. It was inconceivable. She worked for him. He paid her salary. He had strict rules about any romantic fraternization between employees, let alone employer and employee. To him she was the most off-limits woman on the planet.

  Not that he was going to be so self-righteous or so self-deceiving to say he’d never once thought about her sexually in all the time she’d been working for him. Of course he had. He was a man and she was an attractive woman.

  There was something wild about her. The way her hair moved and the way she laughed out loud. The way she practically folded her legs into her lap every time she sat on a couch. It was like she had no restraint. And so yes, from time to time, he’d thought about what she might be like in bed. Unrestrained entirely. Unrestrained except by him. On top of her. Inside her.

  But his self-imposed mental discipline would never let him think about that for too long. Those thoughts were dangerous. Those thoughts, if allowed to linger, could make a man lose control, which Ben swore he would not let himself do.

  This time, however, the thought of ruthlessly shutting down his fantasy the way he’d done all those times in the past didn’t appeal to him. After all, he knew what the next week would bring. The chemo would be stronger, his symptoms more violent. He would feel like shit for weeks, and after that he could suffer an even more debilitating reaction if he contracted GVHD.

  If the transplant didn’t work, or the GVHD couldn’t be controlled…there was only death.

  Tonight, though, he was still alive.

  Ben coughed into his fist to cover his lack of attention. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “I asked if you wanted me to read this book. Are you okay? You look a little funny.”

  “I’m fine.” He walked to the couch and sat. He was wearing loose pajama pants and the flannel robe Anna had purchased for him during his first round of chemotherapy.

  He hadn’t had a robe since he was a child. He’d forgotten how comforting the garment could be.

  And practical. When he got sick it was easier to lose the robe and vomit over the toilet without worrying about getting splatter on his T-shirt.

  Now, however, the robe served as cover for his growing erection. God, he thought. How long had it been since he’d been hard. Really hard. Sex had never been a priority in his life. Nothing ever trumped his work. In his previous life working for the government, opportunities to get laid were few and far between, especially given his rule about not comingling with his coworkers. Most of the other women he knew then were his enemy.

  After he left the agency his focus had been about establishing his business, finding a qualified staff and building a reputation as a troubleshooter/consultant of all trades. Finding time to date while he’d been getting the business up and running hadn’t been possible. Then once he had it established and he’d tried to get himself back into the world of women, dating and sex he’d found it unsatisfying.

  No one was exactly what he wanted. Meaningless sex with strangers for the sake of a few minutes of pleasure was not worth the trade-off in his mind. He had to deal with either the awkward next morning when he knew he had no plans to ever see the person again, or the game of trying to leave immediately after the sex was over without sending the woman into a fury…or, worse, tears.

  Then he’d gotten sick and any thought of sex had been relegated to the furthest reaches of his mind.

  Only now his death was a specter standing in front of him and the idea of doing something so completely life affirming had appeal. Doing it with someone so completely alive as Anna had even more appeal.

  You could do it. You could have her.

  He wasn’t exactly sure where the certainty came from. But it made his dick swell even more. He watched her as she moved to the couch to sit next to him. Watched as she folded her legs across one another Indian style and opened the book to the first page. Watched her lick her lips before starting to read.

  Ben tried to imagine how she might react to a sexual advance from him. If he tossed the book aside, tugged on her hand and brought it down on his lap, would she pull away? If he let her see his erection, let her know what he wanted from her, would she reciprocate?

  He could see it so clearly. He would pull her onto his lap, he would cup her face in his hands and lower her mouth to his so he could finally, finally know what she tasted like.

  “What?”

  Again, he blinked. “Huh?”

  Anna closed the book and carefully set it on the edge of the couch. She looked at him as if somehow she knew what he’d been thinking. Like she could read his wicked sexual thoughts. She licked her bottom lip again and he almost groaned against the near painful swelling of his penis. He adjusted the robe over his lap hoping it didn’t draw her attention down there.

  Or hoping it did.

  “You’re staring at me,” she accused him.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I was looking at you. You always exaggerate.”

  Her eyes dropped for a second to where his hand was trying to casually bunch the material in his lap.

  She met his gaze and he knew he was caught. He thoug
ht about leaving, going to bed. They would ignore this awkward incident as if it never happened and she would continue to be nothing more than his assistant. As it should be, his rational brain tried to convey.

  Instead he sat there and said nothing.

  He watched her swallow and wondered why she hadn’t gotten up and pretended to need something from the kitchen.

  You know why. You’ve seen the way she looks at you.

  It was an insidious thought. One he’d stifled for months as Anna extended her duties from being his employee to his primary caregiver. Or maybe she had been looking at him like that for years. He didn’t want to think about that.

  She unfolded her legs and he thought that was a good thing. She would leave now and end this uncomfortable moment so he didn’t have to. Because, in truth, he didn’t want to. Instead she shifted so she was on her knees on the couch directly facing him.

  “Ben.”

  He stared straight ahead. He couldn’t answer her. He was too conflicted. If he looked at her, he might act on these impulses and he knew intellectually that doing so could only end in disaster. There was no future in this. Hell, there was possibly no future in him.

  “Look at me.”

  Typical of Anna. She made everything so damn messy. Not at work. No, in that arena everything was neat and efficient. But everywhere else around her there was clutter. The way her hair swept across her eyes. The way she was always smiling. She made him feel…not like himself. He didn’t care for it.

  He turned his head to look at her but still he said nothing.

  She was the one, the bold one, the courageous one, to cup his face in her hand. She leaned over him and pressed her lips against his.

  On a sigh his mouth opened and he felt her tongue slide inside and rub against his. It was such an awful pleasure. His whole body lurched at the unfamiliar contact and then his decision was made.