Millionaire's Misbehaving Mistress

by Kimberly Lang

  From the feel of it, he’d crossed several.

  If that’s what it took to convince Peter Asbury to keep his hands to himself, though, then his bruised shins would be well worth it.

  He helped Gwen clear the remnants of their dinner from the table. As she loaded glasses into the dishwasher, she shook her head at him. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Will Harrison.”

  “What for?”

  “You know exactly what for. I hope Evie comes up with a suitable revenge for your behavior tonight.”

  “Hey, all she has to do to avoid it is not date. I’d be good with that.”

  She wiped her hands on a towel and leaned a hip against the counter. “You are in for a long, painful journey through Evie’s adolescence. And I’m starting to think you completely deserve it.” She tossed him the towel and indicated he should wipe off the counter behind him. To his utter amazement, he did.

  Good Lord, he was becoming domesticated. He’d never held a conversation with a woman he was romantically involved with in a kitchen before—much less helped tidy it while he did.

  Gwen was a far cry from the usual husband-hunting trophy-wives-in-training he was used to. Instead of Prada and diamonds, she wore faded jeans and a pukka shell necklace Evie had given her. And instead of the normal topics of conversation he was accustomed to, she was teasing him and talking about the kid. It was a cozy domestic scene probably being played out in millions of households across the planet.

  It was odd. It was strange. Something nagged at him that he should be horrified, but he wasn’t. It was oddly comfortable, and somehow seemingly natural.

  Gwen cocked her head at him and raised an eyebrow. “Was all that big-brother caveman posturing really necessary?”

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to side with Evie.”

  Her chin went up a notch. “On behalf of younger sisters everywhere, I think I should.”

  “You can’t. We have to present a united front.”

  Her eyes widened, and he knew he’d said the wrong thing. Her next quiet words confirmed it.

  “I don’t get a vote here. I may side with Evie at heart, but I won’t undermine your authority.”

  Not quite a slap in the face, but close enough for someone who was feeling rather domesticated mere moments before. “I value your opinion, though.”

  “Thank you, but it’s more important that you and Evie come to an understanding. Evie needs to learn to come to you with her problems, and you need to be ready to deal with them. I won’t always be here to play middleman. Evie seems to be in denial of that fact, but surely you aren’t.”

  Will was no novice when it came to women. He’d been propositioned in every possible way by women far more cunning than Gwen. He looked at her closely, but saw no artifice. Gwen didn’t seem to be angling for anything. In fact, for all her tone indicated, she could be discussing the terms of her contract. Which in a way, he admitted silently, she was.

  Maybe that was why her words left a hollow feeling in his stomach.

  He hadn’t gotten where he was today by playing dumb or avoiding risk, but he also knew when it was time to call his own bluff. Closing the distance between them in two strides, he backed her against the refrigerator and captured her mouth with his. He still wasn’t comfortable with all these new emotions Gwen kept stirring in him, but he was willing to see where they might lead.

  Gwen’s arms twined around his neck as she leaned in to him. He heard her soft sigh as his lips moved to her neck, and something more primal than physical stirred inside him. He nipped gently at her earlobe and felt her shudder in response.

  “Maybe I’m in as much denial as Evie,” he whispered.

  He felt her stiffen at his words, and her eyes flew open to stare into his with an intensity he hadn’t prepared himself for.

  She let a hand trail down his shoulder to his chest, resting her palm where his heart pounded.

  A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. “Sounds like you both need therapy.” The challenge was there in her eyes and in her voice.

  Only Gwen would mock him at a time like this. “If it’s two against one, I’m thinking you’re the one who’s in denial. Maybe you should be seeking therapy.”

  “I won’t argue with that,” she said, as she rose up on her tiptoes to mold her body against his and kiss him again. Her odd choice of words bothered Will for a second, but the touch of her tongue against his chased those thoughts away.

  His hand snaked behind her to cradle her head, and the backs of his knuckles brushed against the cold stainless steel of the fridge.

  Conversation in the kitchen was one thing. Sex was a different story. Without breaking the kiss, he scooped Gwen into his arms and carried her down the hall.

  They had several hours before he had to be standing watch over the front door so he could intimidate Evie’s date some more. Having the free time so he could be alone with Gwen was almost worth letting Evie date in the first place.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “YOU made page three again, Gwennie.” Sarah seemed to be struggling to not sound too pitying about it. “I’m so sorry. I’d like to break that witch’s fingers for you to shut her up.”

  Gwen shifted the phone to her other hand and got comfortable on the couch. Sarah was worked up enough over Gwen’s lack of regular contact, and the addition of another page three appearance hadn’t helped. This could be a long conversation.

  “Thanks, but I’d rather not have to bail you out of jail for your Assault charge.” Gwen glanced over at the latest copy of Lifestyles containing Tish’s newest column of salacious rumors about her. “It’s just gossip.”

  Sarah practically sputtered, and Gwen had to fight back a laugh. “You’re not upset?”

  Gwen thought about her discussion with Will and Evie that morning over breakfast, and said, “I’m irritated, not upset. Let her speculate. I am curious where she’s getting her information, though.”

  Much of Tish’s column simply rehashed last Monday’s speculations, with an update about the Ranger game the weekend before and more comments on their living situation, but this week she’d managed to ferret out information about Gwen’s contract as well.

  “Not from me, Gwennie. You know that, right?”

  “Of course. It never even crossed my mind.”

  “Any fallout?”

  “Actually Tish did me a huge favor by relaying the contract details. My clients now claim to understand why I moved in here in the first place, and no matter how she tries to twist the facts now to look more scandalous, it looks like a business decision. I should really call her and thank her as well for mentioning the ‘exorbitant’ amount of money Will’s paying me. I can raise my rates.” She tried for a lofty tone, but a giggle escaped and ruined it.

  “Well, something good should come from the garbage Tish spouts. How’s Evie handling it?”

  “Pretty good. It was slightly embarrassing for Evie to realize most of Dallas now knew Will hired an etiquette tutor for her, but once she realized it wasn’t that different from being sent through debutante training classes like any other girl, she got over it. Anyway, she’s still floating from her date the other night. It will take a lot to burst that happy bubble.”

  “And you? How’s your happy bubble today? Based on the message you left on my machine, you were totally floating last night.”

  A warm glow moved through Gwen and a tingle settled in her stomach. “I’ve never been happier.”

  “You’re falling for him.”

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I am.” Admitting it out loud was tough, but with that admission, the tingly glow in her stomach spread.

  “And the feeling is mutual?”

  “Will hasn’t said anything directly, but I’m cautiously hopeful. We’re in a strange situation now because we kinda skipped a few of those early casual-dating steps when I moved in here, but so far everything’s just perfect.”

  “So this is going somewhere then?”

  Gwen couldn�
�t stop the smile, but her sister couldn’t see it so she was still able to hedge a bit. “Hopefully.”

  “As in ‘somewhere permanent’?”

  In her secret heart of hearts, she might be thinking in that direction, but only a fool would share that kind of information too soon. Especially to Sarah. Her sister would have her in for a dress fitting before the echo of her words faded. “Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves, okay? It’s only been a couple of weeks. I promise you’ll be the first to know if this…um…”

  “Warrants further planning?”

  “That’ll do. Plus, there’s Evie—”

  “Evie adores you. I’m sure she’s ecstatic to think you and Will might get…umm…‘warrant future planning.’”

  Like a djinn summoned by the speaking of her name, Evie bounded in through the front door. Gwen jumped at the sound. All those times she’d lectured debutantes about how to enter a room, she never thought she’d be thankful for the teenage inability to open a door noiselessly. Even Sarah heard it on her end of the phone line. “Speak of the devil.”

  “Indeed. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Bye. And Gwennie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m so happy for you, honey.”

  “Thanks. Me, too.”

  One look at Evie’s glowing face told Gwen Evie hadn’t been lonely during her swim. “How’s Peter today?” she asked casually.

  Evie giggled, the unmistakable sound of a girl in a crush when the crushee returns the sentiment. Gwen knew the feeling well—especially since she felt a crush giggle trying to escape all the time recently.

  Nothing like a new relationship to bring out a girl’s inner fifteen-year-old.

  “Go change. You can tell me all about it over tea.”

  He had piles of work to do, and therefore shouldn’t be leaving the office early, but HarCorp had lost its monopoly on his time and attention. It was a beautiful, not-too-hot afternoon, and he could surprise Gwen and Evie by taking them out for an early dinner and a movie.

  Will’s new desire to delegate left Nancy gaping and his VPs scurrying, but that was one of the perks of being the boss. He’d hire Nancy her own secretary if that’s what she needed or bring another VP on board to pick up the slack, but he finally understood what had pulled his father from the day-to-day grind of HarCorp. Thankfully Will himself figured it out twenty years earlier than Bradley had and wouldn’t waste these years on a company when he had people at home who cared about him.

  Silence greeted him as he opened the door to the apartment. No music blaring from Evie’s stereo, no TV on in the living room, no sound of Gwen and Evie practicing small talk over tea or pretending to mingle.

  Where were they? The pool? Shopping? Heading down the hall, he heard the faint sound of Evie’s laughter. He veered right, into the living room, and noticed the balcony doors were open. Evie and Gwen were outside with their backs to the apartment, and they obviously hadn’t heard him come in.

  Gwen had her feet propped up on the balcony railing, those pink things women used when painting their toenails woven between her toes. What looked like the entire stock of a small beauty supply company littered the iron table next to her. Evie stood behind Gwen, a comb in her teeth like a pirate’s cutlass, braiding Gwen’s hair into cornrows while Gwen painted her fingernails.

  He’d heard of girls doing stuff like this, but he’d never witnessed it live. As he watched, Gwen groped blindly beside her for a bottle of water while Evie kept a tight grip on the braid she held.

  “Ouch! Easy there, Evie.”

  “Sorry.” The comb clamped between her teeth distorted Evie’s words. “But don’t wiggle or I’ll drop it.”

  Neither of them seemed to notice as he slipped out on to the balcony. He leaned against the glass door, oddly fascinated by this feminine bonding ritual.

  Evie wrapped a rubber band around the braid and went to section off a new row. “So I’m still going to have to join a debutante class?”

  “Not for a couple of years. Don’t you want an official debut?”

  He hadn’t thought about a debut for Evie. He didn’t even know where to start. Good thing he happened to have a deb trainer around.

  “Hold this.” Evie tapped the comb against Gwen’s shoulder. “It just seems ridiculous. I mean, I understand why I needed instruction now. Dallas is completely different from home. What would I learn in a deb class that you haven’t already taught me?”

  “Ahh, there’s more to being a debutante than just walking properly. Plus, you’ll get the fun of the ball and everything.”

  “What kinds of different things?”

  He wondered the same thing himself.

  Gwen held up crossed fingers. “I can’t tell you. It’s Top Secret Debutante Information only learned in official debutante classes.”

  “Really?” Evie was obviously intrigued, and Will smothered a chuckle. He could almost see her brain trying to come up with possibilities. Gwen shrugged, and Evie’s mouth gaped open. “You liar. There aren’t any debutante secrets.”

  “You’ll have to go to class to find out, won’t you?”

  “Will you be teaching the classes?”

  “It depends. You’d have to ask Will where the Harrison family normally presents. If it’s at Will’s Club, then probably not. Theresa Hardin teaches that class.”

  “Maybe Will could get them to hire you instead.”

  He’d been thinking the exact same thing and was surprised when Gwen waved the comment away.

  “Thanks, Evie, but no. I’m not looking to pick up any more deb classes.”

  “Oh, I forgot about you wanting to ditch the debs.”

  “It’s not that I want to ditch them. I just want to do some different things. I’m trained to work with companies and professionals, and that’s what I’d really like to do more of.”

  “Like stuff you’re doing for Will’s meeting?”

  “Could you please quit saying ‘stuff’? There are a thousand words in the English language far more accurate than ‘stuff.’ But, yes, exactly like the ‘stuff’ I’m doing for Will’s meeting. In fact, I’d been lobbying HarCorp with proposals for months before Will hired me to work with you.”

  She had? It was the first he’d heard of it.

  “Really?”

  “Yep. I actually went to that first meeting with Will thinking it would be my big break into the corporate sphere. I got you instead.”

  Will thought back to their first meeting. Well, that explained a lot about Gwen’s reactions that day.

  Evie laughed. “That must have been a surprise.”

  “Definitely. But I took the job anyway—”

  “Obviously.”

  “Sarcastic interruptions are unnecessary,” Gwen teased.

  “Sorry.”

  “As I was saying, I took the job anyway, because I hoped it might lead to more work with HarCorp. And it did in the end. The success of Will’s meeting will be a big boon for my résumé. Working for HarCorp will open a lot of doors for me.”

  A cold rock settled in his stomach. Surely he’d misheard her and she wasn’t just looking for a stepping stone.

  “And the deb classes will go?”

  “It depends. But your success, my dear, will be seen as due to my excellent instruction and means I’ll be in high demand for social training. The Harrison name attached to my business will lift me to the top shelf.”

  Will couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “I thought you were the best already.”

  “One of the best, maybe. But as you’ve found out, the wealthy are a tightly knit social class that’s hard to break into. Now that word is spreading that I’m the one doing Evangeline Harrison’s social training, more folks will want to hire me just because Will did. I should really send Tish a thank-you note for her help spreading the word.”

  Evie laughed and started to say something more, but Will had quit listening. The cold rock had turned to an icy weight in his chest, and his f
ists itched to hit something. He slipped silently through the glass doors back into the living room.

  That conniving little bitch. She’d been working him since day one; he just hadn’t been looking carefully enough for the agenda. Damn it, he should have seen it. Gold diggers after his money and social climbers after his name were nothing new to him. Hell, he’d learned to spot them from the smiles on their faces. But a woman who used him simply to increase her business contacts…That was a new one. One he hadn’t thought to look for.

  What an actress. Gwen’s good-girl-with-good-manners persona had him fooled. She must have thought she’d hit the jackpot when he stupidly allowed his penis to think for him. He’d never pegged her as someone mercenary enough to sleep her way into a better job—or a better bargaining position for her business. And he, stupidly enough, had thought her the answer to all his problems—first Evie, and now the Japanese expansion.

  Oh God. Poor Evie. She adored Gwen. Practically worshipped her. She’d be crushed when Gwen left them both for fatter wallets or better connections.

  “Mr. Will! I didn’t hear you come in.” He cut his eyes quickly to his left where Mrs. Gray stood in the kitchen doorway, but he was more concerned with the reaction on the balcony. Mrs. Gray had spoken loud enough for Evie and Gwen to hear.

  Both of them turned enough to see him standing at the door. Evie waggled the three fingers not holding pieces of Gwen’s hair at him. Gwen’s face lit up with a smile that would have meant something to him five minutes ago. Now he knew it was just another part of her act.

  “Hey, Will. Gwen’s letting me put cornrows in her hair. They look good, don’t they?”

  He wasn’t sure what to say. “If you say so.”

  “You’re home very early today.” Gwen tried to swivel further in his direction.

  “Gwen, don’t move so much.”

  “Evie—”

  The ice continued to move through his body. “Evie’s right. Stay where you are. I have a lot of work to do, so I’ll be in my office.”