He had respected her. He had, as far as his heart could care, cared for her.
And now, no more.
When his good opinion was destroyed, it could not be remade.
And she was potentially pregnant with his child. A fascinating and unwelcome turn of events.
And yet, the idea of her being pregnant by another man...
It ignited his blood. Made it run hot with fury.
And he did not know now which betrayal burned the worst. That she had proven herself to be dishonest in business, or that she was claiming she had given her body to another man after giving herself to him.
And he could feel the heartbeat of his ancestors in his chest as he imagined another man putting his hands on her skin.
She was looking at him, defiant.
Olive was a powerful woman. She went out of her way to never appear to be the sort of woman who used her sensuality to get ahead—and indeed, she did not use her sensuality in business.
It was a strange thing to think of other men seeing her as he did.
For he could not deny that he saw her as sensual.
And after being with her the way that he had been...
She was exquisite.
Her sexuality was a sweet, secret thing, a jewel at the heart of a steely reserve. One that you had to work to see—at least he had thought so. But she made it sound as if she gave her favors away freely.
He was surprised he had heard no rumors to that effect, but he could also imagine Olive going to great lengths to ensure that nobody knew.
To ensure that her brand of desire stayed under wraps.
For one thing he could appreciate about her. She had stepped into a man’s world. All of the other CEOs of the major tech companies were men. Their fathers obviously had been.
And there was her. Groomed and trained to take over, certainly, but a woman all the same.
And he admired the way that she had fashioned for herself a niche.
She did not try to emulate the men around her. She did not wear suits. She did not try to borrow a masculine toughness.
But she had her own. Like a bright-eyed vole who kept her head down and scampered to glory.
She was...
She was a thief. Essentially. She had stolen information. She was not any of those admirable things that he had once imagined.
Just as her sexual favors clearly weren’t rare or difficult to earn.
“If you think that I will be bringing you a steady supply of male concubines during your tenure at my residence, I will have to disappoint you.”
“Drat. I absolutely do not know what I’ll do without my concubines. I like to be fed grapes and fanned with palm fronds before I receive the evening’s pleasure.”
“Sadly. I am fresh out of grapes and palm fronds.”
“Was that an offer of pleasure, Gunnar?”
The words held an edge, and he could see that she was attempting to mock him, but once their eyes met, heat flared there in the depths of hers, and her cheeks turned pink.