Meddling with a Millionaire (Case Brothers 1)

Emma welcomed his arrival because it kept her from having to answer Nathan. “I’m afraid I couldn’t eat another bite.”

Then she remembered her earlier dessert conversation with Nathan and her cheeks warmed. She glanced his way. A silver flame kindled in his eyes. Despite the large amount of food he’d consumed, there remained a hungry look about him. He appeared ready to devour her. A slow, steady heat crept through her, moving with determination to the parts of her most vulnerable to the persuasive power of desire.

“About dessert,” she began, sounding unsteady and breathless.

The way his eyes slid over her made her quake. Traitorous longings weakened her resolve to go back to work tonight. Nathan Case, covered in whipped cream, was too much temptation for her to resist. And Emma had never been one to deny herself something she wanted. Hence, her current predicament.

She cleared her throat and tried again. “I really have a lot of work to do tonight. I should get back to my loft. There’s so much to be done for the show. I’m starting with almost no inventory. The more pieces I make, the more I will have to sell and the better the show will go.” She was babbling, but stopping the words from flowing off her tongue was nearly impossible, pierced as she was by those quicksilver eyes dancing with carnal promises.

“I understand,” he said. “As long as you promise to give me a rain check on dessert.”

With his hand warm on the small of her back, Emma let him guide her between the tables and out the door. “I’m not sure if a rain check is such a good idea.”

As they waited for the valet to bring the car around, Nathan turned her toward him and cupped her upper arms in his hands. “Shh. Don’t say something you’ll regret.”

Amusement fought with annoyance at his arrogance. She was trying not to do something she would regret.

Suddenly, Emma wondered why she was resisting the pull between them. Maybe she should just get him out of her system, and let him get her out of his. Then this business of her father’s could dry up like a creek bed during a drought.

Once they were in Nathan’s car, he turned left out of the parking lot instead of making the right that would take them back toward her loft. Emma got that funny feeling in her stomach again.

“Where are we going?”

“I thought we’d swing by my condo so I can return your earrings,” he said as if this hadn’t been his plan all along. “You said you wanted them back.”

To claim otherwise would make him wonder why she was so skittish about the detour. Maybe he had no ulterior motives. Emma glanced at Nathan’s profile. His lips had softened into a sensual curve. Excitement raced along her nerves as she recognized his expression. Oh, he definitely had ulterior motives.

Her breath shortened as anticipation seized her. Struggling to quell her body’s thrumming need, she tore her attention from Nathan and watched the city slide by her window. By the time he drew up in front of his house, she was a tangled mess of sizzling hormones.

“Can’t I just wait here while you get them?” she asked as he opened her car door. “I really have work to do.”

He shook his head and held out his hand. With a gusty sigh, Emma let him pull her from the car. He slid his palm into the small of her back as they crossed the elegant lobby and ascended in the elevator. Her heart thumped hard enough to hurt as she recalled the last time she’d gone to his condo with him.

If his thoughts ran along the same lines, Emma couldn’t tell from his bland expression. She half expected him to close his front door and pin her against it the way he had a month ago. Of course, last time, they’d both known why they’d come to his condo. The chemistry between them had been hot and inescapable. This time, Emma stepped into his foyer with a cooler head.

She didn’t realize that she was holding her breath until they reached the condo’s main living space. Letting the air flow out of her lungs, she stepped away from Nathan’s tempting presence and scanned the room. A leather sectional occupied one end of the large open-concept floor plan; beyond that, a dining table was surrounded by ten chairs.

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

“My home.” He smirked at her. “The last time you were here, we never made it out of the foyer.”

Her cheeks burned as she recalled how he had taken her by storm. His urgency had thrilled her. Never in her life had a man wanted her with such intensity. Half closing her eyes, she relived the sensation of him sliding into her. The memory flushed her skin hot, arousing her.

She took in the view of downtown Houston visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“It’s very nice. But I’m not staying. I just came up to get my earrings.”

He circled her like a tomcat on the prowl, his shoulder brushing across her back, his chest grazing her breasts as he stopped in front of her. Leaning forward, he whispered in her ear, “Are you sure that’s the only reason?”

“Of course,” she retorted, all the desire he aroused reducing her voice to a husky rasp. She had to get out of here. But her knees wobbled too much to let her escape.

“Because I was hoping I could get you to stay for a drink,” he said, his hands sliding around her waist.

He nuzzled her neck, zeroing in on the spot that made her gasp. Her nipples tightened into hard beads of sensation. Her breasts felt heavy, ready for his possession. She swayed into his body, sighing as he flattened his palms against her butt, lifting her onto her toes, aligning her curves against his hard planes.

“I really shouldn’t,” she told him, her body liquefying as wave after wave of longing washed over her. “I’ve got work to do.” She was beginning to sound like a broken record.