Scandalizing the CEO

He leaned in and kissed her softly. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” she said.

“Why didn’t you want to put your glasses on?”

“I…they are part of the old me. Not this new person that you found attractive.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. He was getting a picture of Ainsley as a woman who hid her true self from the world. “So who’s the real Ainsley? The sexy temptress I met last night or this shy woman I’m seeing this morning.”

She bit her lower lip. “I don’t know. I would have said this is me, but last night I felt comfortable in my body for the first time. I’m not talking about just since I lost weight—I mean ever. I’ve never felt like my skin fit me. Last night, when I was in your arms, I found myself.”

She shook her head. “Oh, God, I sound like a moron.”

He laughed, but deep inside he knew that being with him wasn’t an easy decision for Ainsley.

Hurting her was the very last thing he wanted. He had to be careful if he didn’t intend to lose his heart or let his emotions overwhelm him. And the only way to protect himself was to make sure she didn’t get too involved with him.

He wanted to go back to bed with her but he wasn’t sure that was wise. He’d only brought two condoms with him last night. It would take a box to continue this affair with Ainsley. Twice wasn’t nearly enough to get his fill of her.

Ainsley was finding her confidence as a woman in his arms. What she’d said about finding herself made sense to him. Because he’d noted that change in her. She dressed like a confident woman who knew the power of her sexuality but until last night he didn’t think she really had.

“I have a meeting with Henry and Geoff in an hour,” he said.

“I am actually going to be late if I don’t leave in ten minutes. Freddie is never going to let me live this down.”

“What does he have to say about this? I thought he worked for you.”

“He does, but he’s also one of my best friends.”

“You’re friends with a man?”

She laughed at him and punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Yes, I am. Don’t you have any women friends?”

He didn’t. If pressed, he might describe Dinah as a friend, but she was really more of an employee. “No, I don’t. And you don’t need any guy friends while you’re with me. I can provide all the testosterone you need.”

“Steven, I’m an independent woman and I’m not about to let you tell me who I can be friends with. I’m not going to be sleeping around, but Freddie and I are still going to stay friends.”

“Fine.”

This was precisely why he avoided relationships. Because he was always afraid of losing the very thing he wanted. And he hated to admit that he might need anything from Ainsley other than sex, but she was different. And he disliked this feeling of needing to be the only man in her life. It was crazy.

She looked up at him with her wide violet eyes and he was very afraid that she’d complicate his life. That his life had changed so much last night when he’d taken her in his arms.

He didn’t want his life turned upside down, so he left a few minutes later when she got into the shower. He wasn’t a man who was jealous or possessive, yet Ainsley awakened both emotions in him. Why?

As he drove through the early morning traffic, he had doubts. Why was Ainsley affecting him this way? He had always been able to put women in their place in his life and just keep on his path to total world domination. But she was playing with his head and he was very afraid for his heart.

He knew that he couldn’t insist on crazy things, like forbidding a woman to have male friends, and he had never done that with his other girlfriends. So why with her? What made her so different?

To a man used to always having the answers, this situation was thoroughly unsettling. Until he knew why Ainsley was affecting him this deeply, he needed to keep his distance. He didn’t want to end up with a messy personal life the way Malcolm Devonshire had.

Ainsley couldn’t talk to Freddie about last night no matter how many times he asked. Steven had left while she was in the shower. And even though she knew he had a meeting this morning, she’d expected him to say goodbye. She knew he had things to do and she hadn’t expected him to just hang out at her house all day, but leaving without a word…well, she knew he was running away.

It shouldn’t matter, but it did. She’d taken a big risk last night by having sex with him and the reward had been better than she had expected. She’d never had an orgasm like that before or that many. She’d also never felt as appealing to the opposite sex as she had when she’d been in his arms.