by Tracy Wolff
Her pleading tone had him easing back. She wanted him. He’d broken her down enough for her to fully admit it.
What goals was she referring to? He wanted to know what her plans were because he wouldn’t let this go. He’d waited too long for this second chance and to finally have her, to finally show his father he was in control now, was his ultimate goal.
“I’m not about to give up, Cat.” Will stood straight up and kept his eyes on hers. “You have your goals, I have mine.”
As he turned and started walking toward the door, he glanced back and nodded toward the package on the table. “You didn’t like flowers. This may be more practical for you.”
Before she could say a word, he let himself out. Leaving her flat was one of the hardest things he’d done. He knew if he’d hung around a bit longer she would give in to his advances, but he wanted her to come to him. He wanted her to be aching for him, not reluctant.
Cat would come around. They had too much of a history and a physical connection now for her to ignore her body. He had plenty to keep him occupied until she decided to come to him.
Starting with dropping another bomb on his father where their investments and loyalties lay.
Six
Damn that man.
Catalina resisted the urge to march into the Rowling Energy offices and throw Will’s gift back in his face.
But she’d used the thing all weekend. Now she was back at the Playa del Onda estate cleaning for his father. Same old thing, different day.
Still, the fact that Will had brought her a sewing kit, a really nice, really expensive sewing kit, had her smiling. She didn’t want to smile at his gestures. She wanted to be grouchy and hate them. The flowers had been easy to cast aside, but something as personal as the sewing kit was much harder to ignore.
Will had no idea about her love of sewing, he’d merely gotten the present because of the shirt she’d ripped the other day. Even though he had no clue of her true passion, he thought outside the proverbial box and took the time to find something to catch her attention...as if he hadn’t been on her radar already.
Catalina shoved a curtain rod through the grommets and slid it back into place on the hook. She’d long put off laundering the curtains in the glass-enclosed patio room. She’d been too distracted since that initial kiss nearly a month ago.
Why, after four years, why did Will have to reawaken those feelings? Why did he have to be so bold, so powerful, making her face those desires that had never fully disappeared?
The cell in her pocket vibrated. Pulling the phone out, she glanced down to see Patrick’s name on the screen. She wasn’t afraid of her boss, but she never liked getting a call from him. Either she’d done something wrong or he was about to unload a project on her. He’d been so much more demanding than James had. Granted James had traveled all over the world for football and had rarely been home, but even when he was, he treated Catalina with respect.
Patrick acted as if the dirt on his shoe had a higher position in the social order than she did.
But she needed every dime she could save so that she could leave once she’d finished all her designs. She made a good income for a maid, but she had no idea how much she’d need to start over in a new country and get by until she got her big break.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Come to my office.”
She stared at the phone as he hung up. So demanding, so controlling...much like his son.
Catalina made her way through the house and down the wide hall toward Patrick’s office. Was Will here today? She didn’t want to pry or ask, but she had a feeling Patrick was handing over the reins to the twin he’d groomed for the position.
The office door stood slightly ajar, so Catalina tapped her knuckles against the thick wood before entering.
“Sir,” she said, coming to stand in front of Patrick’s wide mahogany desk.
The floral arrangement she’d brought a few days ago still sat on the edge. Catalina had to suppress her grin at the fact that the gift a billionaire purchased for a maid now sat on said billionaire’s father’s desk.
When Patrick glanced up at her, she swallowed. Why did he always make her feel as if she was in the principal’s office? She’d done nothing wrong and had no reason to worry.
Oh, wait. She’d made out with his son in the laundry room and there had been a witness outside the door. There was that minor hiccup in her performance.
“I’m going to have the Montoro family over for a dinner,” Patrick stated without preamble. “With the passing of Isabella, it’s fitting we extend our condolences and reach out to them during this difficult time.”
Catalina nodded. “Of course. Tell me what we need.”
“The funeral will be Wednesday and I know they will have their own gathering. I’d like to have the dinner Friday night.”
Catalina pulled out her cell and started typing in the notes as he rattled off the details. Only the Montoros and the Rowlings would be in attendance. Patrick expected her to work that day preparing the house and that evening cleaning up after the party... Long days like that were a killer for her back and feet. But the double time pay more than made up for the aches and pains.
“Is that all?” she asked when he stopped talking.
He nodded. “There is one more thing.”
Catalina swallowed, slid her phone into her pocket and clasped her hands in front of her body. “Yes, sir?”
“If you have a notion of vying for my son’s attention, it’s best you stop.” Patrick eased back in his chair as if he had all the power and not a worry in the world. “He may not be marrying Bella as I’d hoped, but that doesn’t mean he’s on the market for you. Will is a billionaire. He’s handling multimillion dollar deals on a daily basis and the last thing he has time for is to get tangled up in the charms of my maid.”
The threat hung between them. Patrick wasn’t stupid; he knew exactly what was going on with his own son. Catalina wasn’t going to be a pawn in their little family feud. She had a job to do. She’d do it and be on her way in just a few months. Patrick and Will would still be bringing in money and she’d be long forgotten.
“I have no claim on your son, Mr. Rowling,” she stated, thankful her voice was calm and not shaky. “I apologize if you think I do. We dated years ago but that’s over.”
Patrick nodded. “Let’s make sure it stays that way. You have a place here and it’s not in Will’s life.”
Even though he spoke the truth, a piece of her heart cracked a bit more over the fact.
“I’ll get to work on these arrangements right away,” she told Patrick, purposely dropping the topic of his son.
Catalina escaped the office, making it out to the hall before she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. Deep breaths in and out. She forced herself to remain calm.
If Patrick had known what happened in the laundry room days ago, he would’ve outright said so. He wasn’t a man known for mincing words. But he knew something was up, which was all the more reason for her to stay clear of Will and his potent touch, his hypnotizing kisses and his spellbinding aqua eyes.
Pushing off the wall, Catalina made her way to the kitchen to speak to the head chef. They had a dinner to discuss and Catalina needed to focus on work, not the man who had the ability to destroy her heart for a second time.
* * *
He’d watched her bustle around for the past hour. She moved like a woman on a mission and she hadn’t given him one passing glance.
Will wouldn’t tolerate being ignored, especially by a woman he was so wrapped up in.
Slipping from the open living area where Cat was rearranging seating and helping the florist with new arrangements, Will snuck into the hallway and pulled his phone from his pocket. Shooting off a quick text, he stood in a doorway t
o the library and waited for a reply.
And waited. And waited.
Finally after nearly ten minutes, his phone vibrated in his hand. Cat hadn’t dismissed him completely, but she wasn’t accepting his offer of a private talk. What the hell? She was just outright saying no?
Unacceptable.
He sent another message.
Meet me once the guests arrive. You’ll have a few minutes to spare once you’re done setting up.
Will read over his message and quickly typed another. I’ll be in the library.
Since he hadn’t seen his father yet, Will shot his dad a message stating he may be a few minutes late. There was no way he could let another opportunity pass him by to be alone with Cat.
He’d worked like a madman these past few days and hadn’t even had a chance to stop by for a brief glimpse of her. He knew his desires ran deep, but he hadn’t realized how deep until he had to go this long without seeing her, touching her, kissing her.
In the past two days Will had severed longstanding ties with another company that wasn’t producing the results he wanted. Again he’d faced the wrath of his father, but yet again, Will didn’t care. This was his time to reign over Rowling Energy and he was doing so by pushing forward, hard and fast. He wasn’t tied to these companies the way his father was and Will intended to see the real estate division double its revenues in the next year.
But right now, he didn’t want to think about finances, investments, real estate or oil. He wanted to focus on how fast he could get Cat in his arms once she entered the room. His body responded to the thought.
She wasn’t even in the same room and he was aching for her.
Will had plans for the weekend, plans that involved her. He wanted to take her away somewhere she wouldn’t expect, somewhere they could be alone and stop tiptoeing around the chemistry. Stolen kisses here and there were getting old. He felt like a horny teenager sneaking around his father’s house copping a feel of his girl.
Will took a seat on the leather sofa near the floor-to-ceiling windows. He kept the lights off, save for a small lamp on the table near the entryway. That soft glow was enough; he didn’t want to alert anyone who might be wandering outside that there was a rendezvous going on in here.
Finally after he felt as if he’d waited for an hour, the door clicked softly and Cat appeared. She shut the door at her back, but didn’t step farther into the room.
“I don’t have much time,” she told him.
He didn’t need much...yet. Right now all he needed was one touch, just something to last until he could execute his weekend plans.
Will stood and crossed the spacious room, keeping his eyes locked on hers the entire time. With her back to the door, he placed a hand on either side of her face and leaned in.
His lips grazed over hers softly. “I’ve missed kissing you.”
Cat’s body trembled. When her hands came up to his chest, he thought she’d take the initiative and kiss him, but she pushed him away.
“I know I’ve given mixed signals,” she whispered. “But this has to end. No matter how much I enjoy kissing you, no matter how I want you, I don’t have the energy for this and I can’t lose my j—”
Cat put a hand over her mouth, shook her head and glanced away.
“Your job?” he asked, taking hold of her wrist and prying her hand from her lips. “You think you’re going to lose your job over what we have going?”
Her deep eyes jerked back to his. “We have nothing going, Will. Don’t you get that? You can afford to mess around. You have nothing at stake here.”
He had more than she realized.
“I need to get back to the guests. Bella and James just arrived.”
He gripped her elbow before she could turn from him. “Stop. Give me two minutes.”
Tucking her hair behind her ears, she nodded. “No more.”
Will slid his thumb beneath her eyes. “You’re exhausted. I don’t like you working so hard, Cat.”
“Some of us don’t have a choice.”
If she were his woman, she’d never work a day in her life.
Wait. What was he saying? She wasn’t his woman and he wasn’t looking to make her his lifelong partner, either. Marriage or any type of committed relationship was sure as hell not something he was ready to get into. Yes, he wanted her and wanted to spend time with her, but anything beyond that wasn’t on his radar just yet.
Gliding his hands over her shoulders, he started to massage the tense muscles. His thumbs grazed the sides of her neck. Cat let out a soft moan as she let her head fall back against the door.
“What are you doing to me?” she groaned.
“Giving you the break you’ve needed.”
Will couldn’t tear his gaze from her parted lips, couldn’t stop himself from fantasizing how she would look when he made love to her...when, not if.
“I really need to get back.” Cat lifted her head and her lids fluttered open. “But this feels so good.”
Will kept massaging. “I want to make you feel better,” he muttered against her lips. “Let me take you home tonight, Cat.”
On a sigh, she shook her head and reached up to squeeze his hands, halting his movements. “You have to know your father thinks something is going on with us.”
Will stilled. “Did he say something to you?”
Her eyes darted away. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is I’m a maid. You’re a billionaire ready to take on the world. We have different goals, Will.”
Yeah, and the object of his main goal was plastered against his body.
Will gripped her face between his palms and forced her to look straight at him. “What did he say?”
“I’m just fully aware of my role in this family and it’s not as your mistress.”
Fury bubbled through Will. “Patrick Rowling does not dictate my sex life and he sure as hell doesn’t have a clue what’s going on with us.”
The sheen in her eyes only made Will that much angrier. How dare his father say anything? He’d done that years ago when Will had let him steamroll over his happiness before. Not again.
“There’s nothing going on between us,” she whispered.
Will lightened his touch, stroked her bottom lip with the pads of his thumbs. “Not yet, but there will be.”
Capturing her lips beneath his, Will relaxed when Cat sighed into his mouth. Will pulled back because if he kept kissing her, he was going to want more and he’d be damned if he had Cat for the first time in his father’s library.
When he took Cat to bed, it would be nowhere near Patrick Rowling or his house.
“Get back to work,” he muttered against her lips. “We’ll talk later.”
“Will—”
“Later,” he promised with another kiss. “I’m not done with you, Cat. I told you once, I’ve barely started.”
He released her and let her leave while he stayed behind.
If he walked out now, people would know he’d been hiding with Cat. The last thing he ever intended was to get her in trouble or risk her job. He knew she took pride in what she did and the fact she was a perfectionist only made Will respect her more. She was so much more, though. She was loyal and determined. Qualities he admired.
Well, he was just as determined and his father would never interfere with his personal life again. They’d gone that round once before and Patrick had won. This time, Will intended to come out, not only on top, but with Rowling Energy and Cat both belonging to him.
Seven
Will stared over the rim of his tumbler as he sipped his scotch. The way Cat worked the room was something he’d seen in the past, but he hadn’t fully appreciated the charm she portrayed toward others during such a difficult time.
There were moments where she’d b
een stealthy as she slipped in and out of the room, removing empty glasses and keeping the hors d’oeuvre trays filled. Will was positive others hadn’t even noticed her, but he did. He noticed every single thing about her.
The dinner was due to be served in thirty minutes and the guests had mostly arrived. Bella stood off to the side with her brother Gabriel, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
“Your maid is going to get a complex if you keep drilling holes into her.”
Will stiffened at James’s words. His brother came to stand beside him, holding his own tumbler of scotch.
“I’m not drilling holes,” Will replied, tossing back the last of his drink. He welcomed the burn and turned to set the glass on the accent table. “I’m making sure she’s okay.”
James’s brief laugh had Will gritting his teeth to remain quiet and to prevent himself from spewing more defensive reasons as to why he’d been staring at Cat.
“She’s used to working, Will. I’d say she’s just fine.”
Will turned to face his twin. “Did you come over here to hassle me or did you actually want to say something important?”
James’s smile spread across his face. Will knew that smile, dammit. He’d thrown it James’s way when he’d been in knots over Bella.
“Shut up,” Will said as he turned back to watch Cat.
If his brother already had that knowing grin, then Will’s watching Cat wouldn’t matter at this point. She was working too damn hard. She’d been here all day to make sure the house was perfect for the Montoros and she was still busting her butt to make everyone happy. The chef was really busting it, too, behind the scenes. Cat was definitely due for a much needed relaxing day away from all of this.
“You appear to be plotting,” James commented. “But right now I want to discuss what Dad is in such a mood about.”
Will threw his brother a glance. “He’s Patrick Rowling. Does he need a reason?”
