Millionaire in Disguise (Special Edition, 1416)

by Brashear, Jean

  “Nikos—” she begged. But she didn’t know if she was begging him to stop or to do what her torn-to-pieces heart so badly wanted. “We can’t—”

  He ignored her completely. His mouth covered hers, smothering her words as he pressed the lean muscled length of him against her. His kiss became her whole world, his body her only reality, her need the only question, his touch the only answer.

  Oh, God. Lexie sobbed into his kiss, dropping her portfolio and purse and sliding her arms around his neck, pressing herself into him as though he could keep her from flying off the earth.

  “Mr. Santorini?” The intercom in the elevator crackled. “Something wrong?”

  Dominic’s fingers dug into her back, pinning her against him.

  Lexie jerked away, shattered by the knowledge of what she’d almost done.

  What she still wanted to do, despite all reason, all sense.

  He stared at her for a moment that spun out for what seemed eons, his eyes a maelstrom of hunger and need—and loathing.

  Self-loathing rose to choke her.

  “B.D.? Do you need help?”

  He shook himself as if awakening from a dream. “No.” His voice grated. “We are fine.” He hit the button again, and the elevator began to move.

  “You’re sure?”

  Dominic’s voice hardened as he stared at Lexie for a moment longer, shaking his head but responding in the affirmative. “Yes. I am sure.”

  The elevator stopped on his floor.

  Lexie gathered her things, held them against her like armor. She couldn’t meet his gaze again. “I— I really have to go.”

  He gathered up his own belongings. His voice was not quite steady when he spoke. “We need to talk.”

  The door opened, and Lexie was keenly conscious of the receptionist staring their way. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” She couldn’t imagine that he couldn’t hear her heart pounding out of her chest at her daring.

  She pushed the button for the lobby, wishing she could vanish.

  He held the door with one strong hand and turned toward her. “We will talk.” His voice was hard now and so remote.

  She risked a glance. “I have a lot of work to do to be ready for the gala.”

  His dark eyes blazed. “If you value your contract, call Mrs. Murray today. You pick the time, but it must be today.” He looked as though he wanted to say more, but already, people were heading toward him, demanding his attention.

  “I don’t think I’ll have time—”

  “Today, Lexie.” He took his hand off the door, and it began to close. “Or I will come after you.”

  Her protest was swallowed up as the doors slid shut; the elevator began its descent.

  Lexie’s legs buckled and only the wall behind her stopped her from sliding to the floor.

  Chapter Nine

  Dominic should have been pleased as he emerged from the day-long board meeting. He’d obtained consent of the full group to implement the poison pill whenever he thought it necessary.

  It should work. As soon as whoever was acquiring the stock reached sixteen percent, it would trigger a Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure. If he set up a management contract with an exorbitant buyout in case of a takeover, it would discourage such an action, too big a hit on earnings.

  If he put the poison pill in place right now, the threat would disappear. Just like the Hydra of mythical lore, however, it would crop up elsewhere—if the enemy’s name was Peter Kassaros.

  If he lived a hundred years, he didn’t think it would be long enough to understand why Peter had hated him all of his life. When they were children in Greece, he’d thought it was simple childhood rivalry, bully against a weaker child.

  Perhaps he should have left it there. Dominic hadn’t consciously set out to humiliate the bigger, older Peter. His fierce pride, however, wouldn’t let him knuckle under. Never telling anyone else about the petty tortures and the sadistic pleasure Peter took in his games only added fuel to the fire, it seemed.

  Coming to this country hadn’t changed a thing. Peter had followed.

  Dominic’s success had made it worse.

  But Peter’s treatment of Ariana had upped the ante to a new level. Dominic had to stop him, had to find a way to neutralize the threat forever. Had to find out who Peter had put inside his organization.

  Even if it was Lexie.

  Lexie. God. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of his nose, wondering what in the hell had possessed him to lose control this morning.

  But he knew. It was the guilt in her eyes that had undone him. Her guilt bashing against what he knew was right…and what he wanted so badly he could taste it.

  He wanted to know that Lexie was innocent. He wanted her in his arms, in his life, and he wanted it with a hunger that was eating him alive.

  But he could not forget what he’d heard from the security guard this morning.

  Lexie had been to visit Josh again. Why?

  “Dominic, wait up,” Bradley called.

  Yanked out of his dark thoughts, Dominic hadn’t quite erased the frown from his face before turning to face Bradley.

  “What’s the matter? I don’t understand why you didn’t let the board go ahead and enact the poison pill. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

  Dominic’s words came out more clipped and hostile than he’d intended. “Yes. I do.” He turned back to head toward his office, then stopped and hung his head briefly, blowing out a breath. He waited for Bradley to catch up.

  “Sorry,” Dominic said, sparing his friend a glance. “Not your fault. I am just so damned tired of this.”

  “So why are you waiting? You could have check-mated him in there just now and removed the threat.” He studied Dominic’s face in challenge. “But you didn’t. Why?”

  Because then whoever it was would back off. And he’d never know if Lexie—

  He shook his head. “We don’t know it’s Peter yet,” Dominic reminded him in a neutral tone.

  “The hell we don’t,” Bradley countered. “You feel it in your gut, just like I do. So what’s the real reason?”

  Dominic remained silent.

  Bradley’s eyes narrowed. “It’s her, isn’t it?”

  Dominic knew better than to ask who Bradley meant.

  “Goddamn it, Dominic, what the hell are you doing? Do you know she was with Josh this morning?”

  “Yes,” Dominic snapped. “I know that.”

  “And what are you going to do about it?” Bradley’s nostrils flared. “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do—I’m going to see Josh and find out why. I don’t know what it takes to make you see the truth about that woman, but if you won’t act, I will—”

  “No.”

  “What do you mean, no?” Bradley leaned close to him. “I’ve never seen you like this, not in all the years I’ve known you. The company is in trouble, and you’re letting her lead you around by the—”

  Dominic held himself back with extreme effort, reminding himself of all the years this man and he had been friends. “I will take care of it, Bradley. I will talk to Josh. You stay out of it.”

  Triumph flared in his friend’s gaze. “When?”

  “Don’t push it. This is my company, and I know my duty.”

  “It’s not just your company, my friend, or have you forgotten?”

  He’d never wanted more to smash his fist into someone’s face, and the very thought rocked him. What was it about her that could make him hesitate to act, make him want to take out his anger on his best friend?

  With an effort like none he’d ever exerted in his life, Dominic forced his savage urge back under iron control. “I said I will take care of it. Now if you’ll excuse me—” He turned and walked away before he did something he would regret forever.

  “You’re losing it, Dominic,” Bradley stormed before he turned. “No piece of tail is worth it.”

  Dominic gripped the handle of his office door so tightly his k
nuckles turned white. With extreme care, he closed the wooden slab between himself and the only man he truly trusted.

  Inside his office, Dominic shed his suit coat and loosened his tie, running a hand through his hair, wondering what the hell had happened to him.

  He stared out his window across the hills, in the direction where Lexie’s dome lay. It already seemed years ago that he’d been there.

  Where had she been in the early dawn hours? Why hadn’t she answered the phone?

  And what was she doing, talking to Josh?

  He shook his head as his thoughts whirled, none of them pleasant. Too many questions, not enough answers.

  “Mrs. Murray,” he spoke into the intercom. “What time is my appointment with Ms. Grayson?”

  “I beg your pardon? Was I supposed to make an appointment for you?”

  “She hasn’t called.” His jaw ground.

  “No, sir. Would you like me to call her?”

  “No. I will take care of it.” He’d like to head out there right now and track her down. Have it out and get his answers, for once and for all.

  But would she tell him the truth?

  And did he want to hear it?

  Dominic ran his fingers through his hair again, then straightened and punched the intercom again. “Mrs. Murray, please check to see if Josh Logan is in the building.”

  “You what?” Max bellowed. He reached her in one step and whirled her around by the shoulders. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, obviously struggling for composure. “Say that again. No—” He held up a hand. “On second thought, don’t say it. I don’t want to hear it.” Wheeling away, he paced rapidly. “I don’t want to hear that my best friend—my idiot friend, I might add—is so foolish, so careless of her own welfare, so certain that I can’t take care of myself—” He stopped and glared at her. “You lied to me, Lex. You risked— Damn, do you realize what could happen to you? Industrial espionage is no laughing matter. I could wring your neck—”

  He started pacing again.

  “I just wanted to help you, Max. You’ve worked so hard to make your dreams come true. Your work has been stolen, and you said yourself that you had to have proof for anyone to take you seriously—”

  “And you just happened to be there, anyway, so—” He swore darkly. “Lexie, this is serious—it’s not a game of cloak and dagger.”

  “I know that—” She burst into tears.

  He stopped immediately and rushed to her side.

  “Oh, kid, I’m not—it’s just that you scare the hell out of me sometimes. You’re loyal to a fault and you’re so impulsive.” He rested his cheek on her hair and rocked her slowly as she sobbed. “Hey…it’s not the end of the world.”

  Her heart was breaking into a million pieces. “It’s worse than you know, Max.”

  He leaned back. “Why?”

  Here it came. She had to tell him, and how much could even Max forgive? But she was so confused, so torn, she didn’t know what was right anymore.

  Through the blur of her tears, she tried to focus on her oldest friend. “Do you remember the guy—” Her voice dropped to a shamed whisper. “That guy? That night?”

  His brows drew together. “What guy?” Then understanding dawned. “You mean, the one who—the one who got to you?”

  She nodded, then dropped her gaze to the floor. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Max.”

  “I’m your friend, Lex. Nothing can change that.”

  How she wished it were true. “It was Dominic Santorini.”

  Max’s breath whooshed out in a gust. “Holy—”

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry—I didn’t know—I didn’t know who he was until—” She lifted her shoulders, determined to face him. “Oh, Max, I—”

  “Good God.” Max paced, his face shell-shocked.

  She felt an inch high.

  Then he whirled. “You poor kid.” His blue eyes filled with sympathy.

  “You’re not mad?”

  “Lex, you’re my best friend. You wouldn’t—” He broke off as it hit him again. “Mama mia. What a mess.”

  “I don’t know what to do. I can’t believe the man I—” Looking around and finding no tissues, she wiped at her nose with the back of her hand. “I can’t believe he’d do that, Max, but I saw your Easter egg on Josh’s computer and I—”

  “Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute.” Max glanced around, then seized a rag and thrust it into her hands. Lexie blew her nose and tried not to wish she were dead.

  Max sucked in a deep breath, then pulled her over to a nearby platform. He stalked toward the refrigerator and came back with two soft drinks, holding one out to her. He dropped down on the plywood beside her.

  “All right.” He shook his head, then reached out and hugged her. “We’ll figure this out. Just tell me what’s happened—and don’t leave out a thing.”

  Lexie sucked in a ragged breath and began talking.

  Dominic walked back into his office at the end of a very long day and sank into his chair, staring off into the darkness, wishing he had never spoken with Josh.

  The boy had confirmed Bradley’s darker suspicions. Lexie had been talking to him about hacking into computers and, like the callow youth he was, Josh had never stopped to question why.

  Never mind that he’d admitted to creating a program to break passwords. Didn’t the boy understand the implications of that? He damn sure hadn’t thought about the liability for Dominic or Poseidon if it was ever used to steal anything from another computer system.

  He was only fifteen. Just a kid. Brilliant—and naive. Josh was Bradley’s find, his shining star. Bradley would be furious, feeling about Lexie as he did, to know that Josh had what appeared to be a major crush on her.

  How would she react if Dominic confronted her about her visits with Josh, if he asked her intentions?

  The Lexie he’d met that one magic day seemed so ingenuous, barely more sophisticated than Josh.

  But the Lexie whose gaze was filled with guilt? The Lexie whose unease around him led to questions?

  There were so many questions Dominic wanted to have answered. If he’d never known Celia, he would have just asked them. But once a man learns that he can’t trust his heart, he gets a little gun-shy of asking what’s in another’s.

  Did he really want to know if Lexie had come after the Poseidon job by accident or by design? Was Bradley right that his desire for her was clouding his mind? Could he live with himself if he found out she’d duped him?

  Could he live with himself if he didn’t know?

  He cursed, long and low, and buried his face in his hands. He stayed there for a moment, fighting for air.

  Then he lifted his head and stared at his reflection in the dark glass.

  You’ve never been a coward before, Nikos. Go ask her.

  The turbulence in the air reflected that in Lexie’s heart. A cold front was on its way south, but for now, the humidity hung like damp laundry. Since she loved to watch a storm build, Lexie had opened the doors of the dome, leaving only the screen doors between herself and the outdoors. In deference to the heat, she’d stripped to her silk chemise, which barely brushed the tops of her thighs.

  She prowled the interior, Rosebud cuddled in her arms. As she scratched the cat’s jaw, Lexie tried to cope with Josh’s revelations, with Max’s confirmation that the innocent Josh’s decoding program could have been used by anyone—including Dominic.

  And what of Dominic? Even if she could prove that he didn’t know, the fact remained that she’d spied on him, plain and simple. How would he stomach that?

  And what about that kiss? What about the hunger, the insane desire to forget everything she’d learned, to ignore everything but how something in him called to something deep inside her? Even now, knowing what she did, knowing how easy she was to dupe, she could not find it in herself to care.

  Could not forget him.

  Ragged from lack of sleep, raw from the unabated hunger she felt for one man, nerves
frayed by turmoil, Lexie was desperate to escape.

  “Music, Rosebud. We need music.” She looked over her selections. She considered soothing, then rejected the idea. No classical, no Sade. Maybe bluesy ballads, Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross. No. Her mood matched the weather—edgy and turbulent.

  Melissa Etheridge. Soon the raw, smoky sounds of Melissa’s voice filled the dome with sensuous, poignant, aching need.

  “Come on, Rosie. I’m too raw to eat, and sleep is out of the question. Let’s dance, girly cat. Let’s just dance.” She began to move around the room, losing herself in the painful glory of someone else’s desperate longing. She hoped it was a hell of a storm tonight.

  Dominic threw down his book in disgust. He’d read the same sentence five times.

  He stared out toward the Austin skyline, the distant lightning matching his mood.

  Finally, his jaw tight, he shoved his feet into deck shoes and stalked to the garage, climbing into his Jaguar, burning rubber as he left.

  He placed a call from his cell phone to Mrs. Garcia, asking her to tell Ariana that he didn’t know when he’d be back but not to worry. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, the jagged edge of hunger gnawing at his insides as he wished the miles away.

  It took two wrong turns for him to finally find the right road. When he turned down the driveway leading to the dome, he wondered if she’d hear his engine and run out the back to escape him.

  As he stopped, he glanced up at the building thunderheads. A blue norther headed this way. The weather suited his disposition: full of heat and turbulence. Charged. Crackling. Unpredictable.

  When he stepped out of the car, he knew his worries about her hearing amounted to nothing. Her sound system was cranked up to a level that probably meant she’d heard nothing at all. He stopped for a moment to identify the sound.

  Melissa Etheridge…hot and sensuous music. Perfect.

  He couldn’t stand still a moment longer. Ready or not, he had to see Lexie.

  Had to touch Lexie.

  He walked to the open door. And stopped dead in his tracks to watch her.