The CEO's Accidental Bride

He took a few steps forward. “The part where I sign the check.”

“We sign the check.”

He came even closer, all pretense of geniality gone from his expression. He was all business, all intimidation. “Right. And ‘we’ had best be happy with both the plans and the price tag.”

“There is no limit on this project’s budget.”

He came to a halt, putting a hand on the rail, half trapping her. “I won’t let you bankrupt my company.”

She struggled not to react to his nearness. “Like I could possibly bankrupt Harper Transportation. You give me too much credit.”

The boat lunged into a trough, and he swayed closer. “You want to see the balance sheets?”

“I want to see a new Manhattan skyline.”

“It’s talk like that that scares me, Kaitlin.”

Her scare him?

He was the one unsettling her.

His intense expression brought her heart rate up. His lips were full, chin determined, eyes intense, and his hard, rangy body was far too close for her comfort. Sweat prickled at her hairline, formed between her breasts, gathered behind her knees, and was then cooled by the evening breeze.

His arms were only inches away. He could capture her at any moment, kiss her, ravage her.

She swallowed against her out-of-control arousal.

Any second now, she’d be throwing herself in his arms. Maybe talking about the renovation was the lesser of all evils.

“I was planning more light.” Her voice came out sexy, husky, and she couldn’t seem to do a thing about it. “More glass. A higher lobby. Bigger offices.”

Had he moved closer?

“Bigger offices mean fewer offices,” he pointed out.

She didn’t disagree.

“Do you know the cost of space in midtown Manhattan?” His rebuke sounded like a caress.

“Do you know the soft value of impressing your future clients?” she returned, her brain struggling hard to grasp every coherent thought.

Had she moved closer? Her nose picked up his scent, and it was sensually compelling. She swore she could feel the heat of his body through his dress shirt.

“Do you think the makers of tractor parts and kitchen appliances care what my lobby looks like?” His breath puffed against her lips.

“Yes.”

They stared at each other in silence, inhaling and exhaling for long seconds. The rumble of the yacht’s motor filled the space around them.

Something dangerous flared in Zach’s intense gray eyes. It was darkly sensual and completely compelling.

Her body answered with a rush of heat and a flare of longing that sent a throbbing message to every corner of her being.

She struggled through the muddle of emotions clouding her brain. “The people who make tractor parts also have tickets to Lincoln Center. They do care about your lobby.”

“It’s a building, not a piece of art.” The yacht lurched, and his hand brushed against hers. She nearly groaned out loud.

“It can be both,” she rasped.

Things could do double duty.

Look at Zach. He was both an adversary and a—

What? What was she saying?

He could be her lover?

“Kaitlin?” His voice was strangled, while his gaze flared with certain desire. His full lips parted, his head tipping toward hers.

The boat rolled on a fresh set of waves, and she gripped the rail, transfixed by the sight of his body closing in on hers.

She flashed back to Vegas.

He’d kissed her there.

How could she have ever doubted it?

Elvis had pronounced them husband and wife, and Zach had thrown his arms around her, kissing her thoroughly and endlessly. It was only the cheers from the crowd that had finally penetrated their haze and forced them to pull apart. It was a miracle they hadn’t slept together that night.

Why hadn’t they slept together that night?

She remembered getting into the elevator with a couple of her female coworkers, then stumbling into her room and dropping, fully dressed, onto the plush, king-size bed.

No Zach.

But he was here now.

And they were alone.

And she remembered. She wished she didn’t. But she remembered his lips on hers, his arms around her, the strength of his embrace, the taste of his mouth, the sensual explosions that burst along her skin.

She wanted it again, wanted it so very, very much.

She gave in to her desire and leaned ever so slightly forward. His mouth instantly rushed to hers. His free arm snaked around her, pressing against the small of her back, pulling her tight as the deck surged beneath them.

She pressed forward, arms twining around his neck. Her lips softened, parted. He murmured her name, and his hand splayed farther down her spine. His tongue invaded, and the taste of him combined with the scent of the salt air, the undulation of the boat and heat of his hands brought a moan from her very core.

He shifted so that his back was to the rail. His free hand caressed her cheek, brushed through her hair, moved down to her neck, her shoulder. He pushed off the strap of her dress, then his lips followed, tasting their way along her bare, sensitized skin.

His kisses, his passion, made her gasp. She tangled her fingers through his hair, pushing her body tightly against his, shifting her thighs as his leg slipped between them. His hand cupped her breast through the flimsy fabric of her dress, while his lips found hers again, and she bent backward with the exquisite pressure of his hot kiss.

The boat lurched again, and they lost their balance, stumbling a few steps sideways.

Zach was quick to steady her, clasping her tightly to him, lips next to her ear.

“You okay?” His voice was hollow.

“I’m—” She drew a shaky breath.

Was she okay? What on earth had she just done? One minute they were arguing over office sizes, the next they were practically attacking each other.

He held her tight. Neither spoke as they drew deep breaths.

Finally, he stroked her messy hair. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“That we’ve both gone completely insane?”

He chuckled low. “That’s pretty close.”

“We can’t do this.”

“No kidding.”

“You need to let go of me.”

“I know.” He didn’t move.

“I’m blackmailing you. You’re trying to outflank, outmaneuver and outthink me along the way. And then we’re getting divorced.”

“As long as we’re both clear on the process.”

The flutter in her stomach told her there was way more to it than that. But she had to fight it. She couldn’t let herself be attracted to this man. She certainly couldn’t let herself kiss him, or worse.

They were adversaries. And this was her one chance to get her life back. And she couldn’t let any lingering sexual desire mess that up.

“You need to let me go, Zach.”

Four

After a long, sleepless night, and a lengthy heart-to-heart with Lindsay as they drove up the coast of Long Island, Kaitlin watched her friend browse through a tray of misshapen silver coins in a small beachfront antique shop.

“I never thought I’d hear myself say this.” Lindsay selected one plastic-wrapped item and read the provenance typed neatly on the attached card. “But, as your lawyer, I must strongly advise you not to sleep with your husband.”

“I am not sleeping with my husband,” Kaitlin reminded her. And she had absolutely no intention of going there. Desire and action were two completely different things.

Two women checking out a painting in the next aisle slid their curious gazes to Kaitlin, and their expressions shifted from smirks to bemusement.

Kaitlin leaned a little closer to Lindsay and whispered, “Okay, that just sounds stupid when I say it out loud.”

“He’s playing you,” said Lindsay, dropping the first coin and switching to another, turning it over to read.

“Neither of us meant for it to happen,” Kaitlin pointed out. Zach’s shock and regret had seemed as genuine as hers.

Lindsay glanced up from the coin, arching her a skeptical look. “Are you sure about that?”

“I’m sure,” Kaitlin returned with conviction. They’d both sworn not to let it happen again. It was as much her fault as his.

“And what were you doing right before you kissed him?” Lindsay gave up on the coin rack and meandered her way across the shop floor.

Kaitlin followed, only half paying attention to the merchandise. Lindsay was the one who’d suggested driving up the coast to visit antique stores. They’d never done it before, but Kaitlin was game for anything that would distract her.

“We were on deck,” she told Lindsay. “Fantastic boat, by the way.”

“You mentioned that. So, were you eating? Drinking? Stargazing?”

“Arguing art versus architecture.” Kaitlin took her mind back to the first minutes of the return trip. “He wanted to see my designs.”

“I rest my case.” Lindsay lingered in front of a glass case displaying some more gold coins. “Aha. This is what I was looking for.”

“What case?” asked Kaitlin. What was Lindsay resting?

Lindsay fluttered a dismissive hand, attention on the coins. “The case against Zach.” Then she tapped her index finger against the glass in answer to a clerk’s unspoken question. “I’d like to see that one.”

“I don’t follow,” said Kaitlin.

“The coin is from the Blue Glacier.”

“Yes, it is,” the clerk confirmed with an enthusiastic smile, unlocking the case and extracting a plastic-covered, gold, oblong coin.