Heated Secrets (Rose Garden Apartments Book 1)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  “Thank you!” she told him with heartfelt sincerity. “I’m sorry that this took so long, but–”

  “Stop,” he ordered, leaning down to kiss her. “You were needed. Let’s go.”

  Five minutes later, they were walking into her apartment building and, this time, he reached out and took her hand as they walked up the stairs. She tried to hide her surprise. A moment later, she wondered if she should pull away. They’d agreed not to touch each other in public, but…okay, so that agreement had gone out the window when he’d pulled her into his arms back at the Center. Plus, he’d spent the night with her every night for the past several weeks. Anyone who looked out their windows, and Lilly was fairly certain that Louise and Nora were always watching, would know that Drako spent the night with her.

  So instead of pulling her hand away, she leaned closer, enjoying the touch.

  That night, Drako stripped off her clothes slowly, kissing every inch of her and making her gasp and squirm. He was relentless, kissing her, teasing her, and making her cry out with the beauty of her release.

  And afterwards, he pulled her into his arms and let his fingers slide through her hair as she fell asleep, curled up against his chest.

  Chapter 11

  Lilly barely acknowledged Drako’s presence when he walked in that morning. As soon as he stepped into her office, Lilly swiveled around to grab a piece of paper from the printer behind her desk. “Good morning, I…” She stopped and Drako could see the desire burning in her eyes. But instead of acting on the impulse, Lilly tamped it down. Damn, he thought as he watched her resist. He wanted her to…what?

  She looked down at the graph she’d grabbed, running her finger over the lines, which he assumed had the data for the graph, as her other finger trailed along the graph’s line. He assumed she was checking the numbers to ensure that she’d entered the right data for the graph, but as Drako stood beside her desk, waiting for her to finish, his impatience grew. He knew what she was doing. They’d agreed that their…relationship…would remain private. That no one in the office would know about how they felt about each other. But damn it, she was taking things too far! What would it hurt to kiss him when he came into the office? Seriously, he just wanted a small gesture of affection from her!

  Lilly looked up at him, startled. “Oh! Right!” and she grabbed her tablet. “Your schedule is packed today,” she began. Then proceeded to go through the scheduled meetings. She was thorough, as always. But all he really wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss her! Damn it, just two hours ago, he’d made love to her! She’d been screaming his name, her body clenching around his, her legs tightening around his waist as they gasped for breath in the aftermath of an incredible orgasm! Now she dared to stand there, blandly listing out his meetings, as if they meant nothing to each other?

  Oh no! This wasn’t going to work for him!

  Lilly forced herself to focus on the schedule for the day, but in reality, she could barely restrain herself! She’d already experienced a blissful release just a few hours ago. But when Drako walked into her office, all she’d wanted was a kiss! Or maybe a touch? Anything at all. Any sort of acknowledgement from him that she was special. That she was special to him!

  When he’d stood beside her desk, looking stern and irritated, she’d wanted to…to…! Something!

  So, when he’d ordered her into his office, Lilly had been fully prepared to…do something horrible! She’d felt lost, alone, and cold with the unfeeling bastard staring down at her as if she were a bug, interrogating her. Acting as if she’d done something wrong!

  She’d done nothing wrong! She’d maintained her decorum in the office, just as they’d agreed. That vile constraint about no public displays of affection as well as keeping their relationship private was driving her a little crazy. That was just…! Okay, reality check; she hated it! She wanted to throw herself into his arms and kiss him good morning! She wanted to hug him and thank him for the way he’d woken her up this morning. The soft kisses along her back and her neck, his teasing hands waking up her body as her mind slowly came to the realization that he was already hard and hungry for her. Then his fingers touching her in that way she loved, and…!

  Lilly swallowed a moan at the memory of the way he’d thrust into her body. She’d been so turned on by then that there was no resistance to his entry. He’d taken her from behind while his fingers teased that sensitive nub from the front. She’d put her own hand over his, just to make sure that he didn’t stop. Goodness, his fingers were so talented! So amazingly, perfectly good at zeroing in on what her body screamed for. Perhaps it helped that he demanded that she tell him how to touch her, what she liked. And he wouldn’t let her be embarrassed by anything she wanted or needed.

  So, why was she holding back right now? She needed him but…he was off limits in the office, Lilly reminded herself firmly. Rubbing her forehead, she tried to tamp down the desire to just throw herself into his arms and demand that they ignore all of the ridiculous restrictions they…she…had put on this relationship. Damn it, she had to leave when they were through. When neither of them felt desire for the other, she would find a new position in a different company. She’d move on! So, why was she…?

  “In my office, Lilly,” Drako snapped, interrupting her mental argument even as she tried to explain his next meeting and the reports she’d created for him this morning. Drako didn’t want to hear about the analysis she’d done or the reports she’d compiled, the research she’d printed out for his review or the contracts that she’d annotated.

  He stalked into his office and tossed the papers she’d given him onto his desk, then turned to watch her walk into his office.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked, standing primly by the door. She was wearing a cream colored sheath dress this morning. She’d paired it with taupe heels and some sort of gold necklace that he didn’t like. Why hadn’t she worn the red dress he’d seen her pull out of her closet the other day? The one with the V neck and the cute little bow on the waist? He always looked forward to the days when she wore the red dress. He loved how it made her blue eyes sparkle!

  Instead, she’d worn cream. What a boring, tedious color!

  “Yes!” he growled. “Shut the door, Lilly!”

  Immediately, she closed the door and, while she had her back turned, he stepped forward. So when she turned around, an inquiring look in her eyes, he didn’t hesitate. He simply pulled her into his arms and kissed her. For a fraction of a second, she stood stiffly in his arms. But it was barely a second. Maybe half a second. Then her arms wrapped around his neck and she moaned as her soft, full lips opened for him, deepening the kiss. He was hard pressed to stop himself from lifting her up and setting her on his desk to make love to her all over again.

  Lilly didn’t hold back. She put all of her frustrations into the kiss. Pressing her body against the hardness of his muscles, she sighed with relief when his mouth covered hers, demanding that she respond. Which she did! Because when Drako kissed her, there wasn’t anything else that she could do!

  When he finally lifted his mouth to stare down at her, Lilly knew that they were both fighting to control their hands. She could feel his arousal pressing against her stomach and smiled, feeling powerful that she could do this to Drako, who had always been in absolute control of his world.

  “You think you’ll get away with that?” he asked, laughing when she lifted her brows in question.

  “I’ve worked for you for three years, Drako,” she replied, snuggling a bit closer to the warmth of his chest. “I’ve never seen you let anyone get away with anything.”

  He chuckled as his arms tightened around her waist. “Glad you are paying attention, agapite mou.”

  There was a sound outside of his office and Lilly quickly pulled away. Looking around, she picked up her pen and notebook, and smoothed a hand down her boring sheath dress. “Do I look as if I’ve just been mauled by an overly muscular dictator?” she teased.

  Drako looked at
her soft lips, swollen from his kisses, and at the heightened color in her cheeks. There was a small lock of hair that had slipped out of the pins holding it in place.

  But instead of telling Lilly that she looked as if she’d just been thoroughly kissed, he shook his head. “You look fine,” he lied.

  Drako watched as she turned, gazing at her lovely ass as she left his office. He should feel guilty for lying to her. He should have smoothed her hair back, or at least given her a moment longer to compose herself. Hell, he could have had her sit down in the chair in front of his desk so that the two of them could go over a couple issues, given her time to recover.

  But he didn’t. He couldn’t explain his reaction right now, but he wanted the world to know that Lilliane Hamilton was his lover. She was his woman! His and his alone!

  Damn, this sensation of possessiveness was new. But it didn’t bother him. In fact, it irritated the hell out of him that he couldn’t announce that they were in a relationship to the press! Which was completely out of character.

  What the hell was he doing? Drako moved to the windows, contemplating his actions and trying to come to terms with what he was doing. First of all, he shouldn’t have let Lilly leave his office like that. It wasn’t fair to her and he’d apologize later. That was inexcusable. They had an agreement and he wasn’t living up to the terms that they’d agreed on.

  Lilly had her own reasons for not wanting their relationship public. He wasn’t sure what they were, but he knew they were valid. He never should have put those reasons in danger of being exposed.

  With a sigh, he turned, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. The damage was done, he thought and picked up the report she’d given him. Better to just fix the problem and move forward than dwell on it now.

  He’d keep his hands off her while they were in the office, he vowed. He’d be extra careful. Drako mentally promised to stay an extra foot away from her when they left for his lunch meeting this afternoon.

  Yes, that should fix it. Any rumors that were spread due to whoever had been outside of his office moments ago would be disputed when he wasn’t affectionate towards Lilly going forward.

  Chapter 12

  “You brought me a yellow rose bush?” Maggie whispered, staring awestruck at the plant in Lilly’s arms.

  “You don’t like it?” Lilly asked, her smile faltering.

  Maggie’s eyes lifted from the dark green leaves and yellow buds to the beautiful woman standing in her doorway, awkwardly holding the plant. “Yes, I do!” she gasped, realizing that she’d hurt Lilly’s feelings. “Oh yes!” she repeated, stepping forward to accept the rosebush. “I can’t believe you did this for me!” she gushed, her fingers lifting to touch the delicate, yellow buds. In a few days, this yellow bud would open up and spread its petals to the warmth of the sunshine. It would look lovely. “I know exactly where I want to put it,” she told Lilly with a sniff.

  “Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?”

  Maggie’s teary eyes lifted and she shook her head. “Oh no! Absolutely not! I just…well, it’s been a long time since anyone did something so nice for me.”

  “I can’t believe that, Maggie. You’re a beautiful person!”

  Maggie laughed. “Well, back in Texas, my mother wasn’t a nice person. And I was guilty by association.” She waved for Lilly to come inside. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked, glancing at Lilly over her shoulder. Then a knowing smile crept over her features. “Or is that gorgeous fella waiting for you?”

  Lilly laughed. “He’s stuck at a dinner meeting. So yes, I’d love a drink.”

  Maggie pulled out a pitcher of ice tea. “Everyone in the south thinks that their way of brewing iced tea is the ‘right’ way.” She laughed, shaking her head. “But this here’s real iced tea,” she proclaimed, grabbing two glasses off of the countertop. “The stuff y’all think of as iced tea here in the north isn’t right by any southern woman’s standards,” she proclaimed, her soft, lilting Texas drawl pulling out the vowels, making “right” sound more like “rayht” instead.

  Lilly smiled and relaxed against the wooden kitchen chair, noticing that there were now four chairs. One was pink, another yellow, a third was blue, and the one she was sitting on hadn’t been refinished yet. It still had decade’s worth of scrapes and nicks. The other chairs had been sanded and painted into a perfectly smooth color with small, delicate stencils that…were those dancing skeletons? With daisies in their ‘hair’?

  “I love the chairs,” Lilly said, smiling delightedly at the whimsical details. The chairs were mismatched, clearly from different sets that had graced other kitchens through the years.

  “Thanks,” Maggie laughed, setting a glass of iced tea on the card table that was currently being used as a kitchen table. Lilly suspected it performed multiple jobs, if the stacks of invoices and blueprints were any indication. This table was dining table, craft table, and office desk. Probably a rental office too.

  Lilly took a sip of tea. “Wow! This is wonderful!”

  “See?” Maggie laughed and took a long sip of her own ice tea. “The trick is to boil the water and add the sugar in while the water is hot. Then put the tea bags in and let them steep while the water cools. I’m sure that everyone has their own way of making iced tea, and that’s mine.”

  “It’s incredible!” Lilly said, taking another long sip. She set her glass down and smiled at Maggie. “I wanted to thank you for coming in and taking care of things around here.”

  Maggie laughed, waving the compliment aside. “Actually, I’m the one who should be grateful. Y’all accepted me into your family and made me feel welcome.” She glanced down at her drink, toying with the glass. “I haven’t had genuine friendships in…ever,” she finished lamely, adding a slight shrug of her shoulders. “That makes me sound kind of pathetic,” she laughed self-consciously. “But it’s true.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” Lilly argued. “You are such a beautiful person! What…?”

  There was a loud banging on the door. “That’s going to be Drako,” Lilly said, as she jumped up, eager to see the man. “Let’s have lunch sometime soon, okay? If I can get away from this demanding brute, we could have some uninterrupted time together. Really get to know each other.”

  Maggie beamed, but there was a secret hidden behind her eyes. “I would love that!”

  “Great,” Lilly said with a nod. “I’ll call you tomorrow and we can set something up.”

  Lilly opened the door and, sure enough, Drako stood there, his arms braced against the doorframe.

  “You weren’t in your apartment,” he growled, taking her hand and practically dragging her out of Maggie’s place. He looked behind her at Maggie who was leaning a shoulder against the wall separating the kitchen and living room. “Ms. Litton, it’s good to see you again.”

  Lilly turned just in time to see Maggie’s huge Texas grin. “Great to see you again, Mr. Gataki. But I’m sure that you have better things to do than chat with me. So, y’all have a good evening!”

  Lilly smiled back at her new friend as she pressed herself against Drako’s side. He slung an arm around her shoulder and she noticed how tired he looked. She pulled the door closed behind her as she led him along the walkway towards her apartment. “Are you okay?”

  He looked down into her eyes, the dim lights of the walkway hiding his expression. Was he okay? Drako wasn’t sure. He’d finished with his dinner meeting, irritated that Lilly hadn’t come with him. She’d come to plenty of dinner meetings over the years. Why hadn’t she joined him tonight?

  Then he’d remembered the rose bush. She’d had to deliver the damn plant.

  Drako had ended the meeting early, not interested in his dinner companion’s idea for an investment group. He’d driven straight here. When he’d seen her car parked in the usual spot, Drako had felt a stab of…it hadn’t been lust. But yes, he’d recognized the surge of desire at the idea of pulling her into his arms and making love to her, as he’
d wanted to do all day. Ever since that kiss in his office earlier today, he’d been hungry for more. Wanting to pull her into his office and…hell, just hold her.

  There! He admitted it. He’d wanted to hold her today! Those ridiculous restrictions held him back, which was exactly why he wasn’t saying anything now.

  “I think we need to renegotiate the terms of our agreement,” he announced as he took the keys from her and unlocked her apartment door.

  She hesitated for a moment, but as he watched, he saw something in her eyes. Was that agreement? He wasn’t sure, but he put a hand to the small of her back and nudged her into the privacy of her apartment.

  “What changes did you have in mind?” she asked.

  He put her keys down on the table beside the door. “We’ll talk, but I need something first,” he told her. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, relieved when she immediately lifted her face up to his, kissing him back as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Yes!” she whispered against his mouth.

  Drako barely lifted his mouth from hers as he asked, “Yes to what?”

  She sighed and he felt that sound all the way to his groin. Moving her backwards, he walked-carried her towards her bedroom.

  “Yes to whatever is on your mind tonight,” she replied back, moving with him. She obviously didn’t want to stop touching him any more than he wanted to lose contact with her.

  “Ah, that opens up a whole new realm of possibilities,” he warned. Her laughter was the last thing he heard before he had her moaning his name, naked and holding onto him tightly as he made love to her.