Million Dollar Christmas Proposal

“You are so sure?”

“Yes. Long before my parents played their we-don’t-have-a-gay-son card, both Toby and I knew that they didn’t feel the same way about us as they did our older siblings, the children they’d planned for.”

This was not a conversation he wanted to revisit, so he did not reply with agreement or denial to her implication that Franca and Angilu might suffer the same fate.

Leaning back against his desk, one ankle crossed over the other, Enzu asked, “Are you still determined to wait for marriage before having sex?”

As topic-changers went, it was a resounding success.

Audrey inhaled her sip of tea and had a short coughing fit before demanding, “What? Why would you ask that?”

“Because in addition to having a rapport with the children, my wife and I will have to be sexually compatible.”

“You plan on having sex with all the candidates for the position?” Audrey asked with not a little amount of disgust.

He would hazard that not a single other woman on the list of candidates would object to his doing so. However, instead of being annoyed with her for the disapproval set in every line of her body, he found it ridiculously charming.

The truth was, he had no desire to have sex with a bevy of strangers. A man with his wealth and influence could not afford to indulge indiscriminately.

“No, Audrey. Once I have narrowed the candidates down to the most likely hire, she will be introduced to the children in a series of planned meetings. She will also spend time with me, testing our social and sexual compatibility.”

“You’re talking about choosing a wife like an employee.”

“Exactly.” He’d always done very well choosing employees.

In the thirteen years since taking over the bank presidency from his father at the tender age of twenty-three Enzu had made exactly four bad hires. He had learned from each mistake.

“You’re not normal, you know that?”

“On the contrary, business arrangements for this sort of thing are very common in my world.”

“And they’re amazingly successful, are they?”

He let Audrey know with a severe look that he did not appreciate her levity.

She frowned back. “What if I don’t like the idea of going on a sexual test-drive?”

“I’m afraid it’s a non-negotiable.” While he had not considered this aspect previously, now that he had he wasn’t going to compromise on it.

“But that’s not legal. You can’t require sex for a job.”

“Absolutely, but as much as we are handling this situation like I’m hiring an employee, I am not actually doing so. You won’t be working for Tomasi Enterprises or the bank. You will be my wife and the children’s mother. Your job here is in no way dependent on what happens in this interview, or later between us, for that matter.”

“That’s not true.”

Shock coursed through him, followed by hot anger he refused to allow to the surface. “You are accusing me of lying?”

“Not exactly. It’s just that if I were to be selected as your wife and the children’s mother, I believe you would expect me to quit my job.”

“That is correct.”

“So…”

“Ultimately a successful outcome on your part regarding this position would impact your current job, but only in the same way that getting a promotion would do so.”

She nodded, still looking a little shell-shocked.

“However, should you withdraw from the application process it will not impact your current or future success with Tomasi Enterprises, or the bank should you transfer back there.”

“By ‘withdraw’ you mean…”

“Refuse the physical aspect.” He would not mince words.

“I… This is insane.”

“On the contrary; it is efficient.”

Her lovely dark eyes narrowed. “You do realize it is illegal to pay for sex in the state of New York?”

Offended, he glared at her, unable to suppress his anger at that particular accusation. “I am not paying for sex.”

“It sure sounds like it to me. $250,000 a year.”

“That money is to ensure that, as my wife and the children’s mother, you would not feel the need to embark on a career to provide an independent income. Many men provide their wives with a significant personal allowance for this very reason.”

“Maybe in your tax bracket they do.”

Since he had very little experience with life outside his tax bracket, he did not argue the point.

Audrey fiddled with her teacup, but didn’t take a drink. “So, this sex thing is a deal-breaker for you?”

“Sì.”

She went silent for several long seconds, then seemed to come to a decision. He waited with unaccustomed agitation to find out what that was.

“I think you better kiss me.”

“What?” Had he heard correctly? “You want me to kiss you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I think that would be obvious.”

He was not used to people implying he was thick. “Explain it to me.”

“Because if we don’t have the chemistry to make it through a single kiss, the rest of this interview is an exercise in futility. Since you’re so set on us being physically compatible.”

It actually made sense, and he had not considered it because he’d been so intent on not giving in to his urge to kiss her.

He nodded and stood up, away from the desk, putting his hand out to her. “That is an excellent point.”

She stared at his hand as if she couldn’t imagine why it was there, but with only the briefest hesitation she placed her palm against his. The simple touch jolted the underlying buzz of arousal that had not abated since she’d entered the office.

Curling his fingers around her hand, he pulled her to her feet, her body coming within inches of his own.

Their gazes locked, hers filled with trepidation and something else that he had been unsure he would find there: desire.

“You want me.”

“I want a kiss,” she corrected, but the truth was there.

He wouldn’t ignore the fear, though. The knowledge that this kiss was a test for both of them made him determined to make it the best she’d ever had. He could not afford to frighten her with overwhelming passion, but he had to show her that the potential to burn up the sheets between them was there.

Not a man who suffered self-doubt, he confidently cupped the back of her head. Using his hold there, and on her hand, he pulled her forward so their bodies touched.

She gasped, her eyes glazing with passion before he even had a chance to bring their mouths together. How had this woman stayed a virgin for so long?

Enzu bent forward and brushed his lips against hers in the gentlest of caresses. Breath escaped her, leaving her mouth parted. That was when he kissed her.

He did not use his tongue, not yet, but concentrated on giving pleasure with chaste lips. Lust rolled through him in inescapable waves, his body going tense with the need to do more than simply kiss.

She made a soft sound of need and he could not help deepening the kiss, pulling her body hard against him. She had to feel his arousal, but she didn’t try to back away. She moved against him in an unconscious invitation that took all of his formidable self-control not to accept.

He wanted her naked on the pristine white plush pile carpet of his office.

Knowing that was impossible, and very much afraid he might do it anyway, he forced himself to gentle the kiss and then pull away.

She moaned in protest, her hand coming up to pull his head back down to hers.