Scandalizing the CEO

They entered through a side door into the kitchen. It was outfitted with all the modern conveniences and a large restaurant-grade stove. “Do you cook?”

“It’s a hobby. My aunt Lucy is a chef and she taught me when I was little.”

“Did you spend a lot of time with her?” Ainsley asked. All the articles she’d read about him in magazines and on the Internet had been about his business interests and nothing had been about family.

“Yes, whenever my mum was needed in Berne. She’s been working on the particle accelerator for years.”

“Is she working on the God particle?”

“Mum started working on it with Peter Higgs. He found the Higgs Boson. Then she started doing her own research. It’s been her life’s work. I’m sure she’ll talk to your writer about it, but only via e-mail.”

“That will be great,” she said.

He led the way through the house. She had a vague impression of dark blue hues and a very British-looking den before he led her upstairs.

“Spend a lot of time here?”

The master suite had a large king-size bed in the middle of it and an en suite bathroom. There was a flat-screen, LCD TV on the wall and a love seat in front of it with a large padded ottoman.

“It’s my retreat,” he admitted.

“Do you bring a lot of people here?” she asked.

“You’re the first,” he said.

Ainsley didn’t want to read too much into that. After all, this was only the third time they’d been together, but she couldn’t help but feel special.

Steven had been busy over the last three weeks but mostly he’d been aware of how much he’d missed Ainsley. She was a busy woman and though she’d made a big deal about having a relationship with him he suspected she’d gotten scared because she hadn’t had a free moment since they’d slept together. He thought her actions were deliberate.

Plotting with her secretary had been his only option. He knew she was going to keep making him work to get back into her good graces. She might not be doing it intentionally, but she was definitely avoiding him. And he’d had enough of that.

Having her here in his bedroom felt right. It was the place he thought of when he pictured her with him.

He put her tote on the padded bench at the end of the bed. “Would you like a bath?”

“Yes. I think I would.”

“I’ll draw you one while you open this,” he said, handing her a gift-wrapped box.

He left before she opened it. The ultramodern bathroom was an oddity for the UK, but he’d seen it in a magazine and decided he wanted one. It was large, with a garden tub and a stained-glass window that overlooked the backyard. He had a glass-enclosed double shower and a steam room in the space as well. The double sinks had a marble countertop.

He drew the bath for Ainsley and added some soothing bath salts he’d had his secretary order. He turned on the heated towel racks and checked to see that the champagne he’d left chilling was still cold. He popped the cork and poured them both a glass.

When he went back into the bedroom, she was still sitting on the padded seat with the gift box on her lap.

“You didn’t open it.”

“I was waiting for you,” she said.

“I’m here,” he said.

She toyed with the white ribbon on the box. “Why did you get me a gift?”

“Not so we could play twenty questions. Are you going to open it or not?”

She ripped the paper, folded it into a neat square and put it next to her on the bench. Then she opened the shirt-sized box. She drew back the tissue paper and pulled out the La Perla negligee. She pulled it from the box and held it up in front of her.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I wanted to find something that was as sexy as you are, but this was as close as I could come.”

She blushed. “I’m not sexy.”

“Then my memories of our night together must be wrong. Because I remember a very sexy woman in heels, hose and a garter belt seducing the hell out of me. Ready for your bath?” he asked, raising one eyebrow.

“Yes.” Ainsley kicked off her shoes and then stood up to follow him into the bathroom. A sigh escaped her when her bare feet hit the heated wooden floor. This bathroom—this entire house—had been designed with comfort and luxury in mind.

He turned off the taps of the tub, helped her take off her clothes and then hugged her close. “I missed you.”

“Me, too,” she said. The weeks apart had been long and made her realize how important Steven was to her.

He undressed and they both got in the tub, sitting behind her and drawing her into his arms and back against his chest.