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Naomi chuckled, reached for her drink and took a few calming sips before answering. “C’mon, the only reason you’re trying to charm me is so you can find out more information on Brooks and Johnson.”
“That’s not the only reason.” Lucius sat upright and leaned closer to her. His eyes caught and held hers over the circle of light from the votive candle on the table between them. His dark eyes bored into hers and spoke without words of his desire for her. She dropped her eyes under his intense scrutiny.
Naomi might be confident in business, but just then he’d seen a flash of the old Naomi. The sensitive, innocent Naomi who’d once admired him. Now, however, he didn’t want her admiration—he wanted her to want him.
* * *
Naomi couldn’t hold Lucius’s gaze and lowered her lashes. His eyes had darkened dangerously with what Naomi felt was akin to lust. His face was hard and lean, just like his body. A body that was emphasized by the wine-colored polo shirt that revealed his bulging biceps and black jeans that showed off his trim waist and long legs.
Naomi felt an unwelcome surge of excitement. Her body felt heavy and warm due to his unrelenting gaze. She reached for her drink, and Lucius caught her hand. Naomi’s pulse pounded at the smoldering flame in his eyes.
“Why don’t we stop playing games? Let’s quit acting like there isn’t a mutual attraction sizzling between us.”
“There is no attraction,” Naomi threw back at him caustically.
“Don’t deny it. The chemistry has been there from the moment we reconnected.”
“Only a rich, arrogant millionaire intent on getting his greedy hands all over my company would say that.” She rose from the chair she was seated in. “Neither I nor my company is for sale, Lucius.”
She stalked out of the lounge with as much dignity as she could muster given that he was partly right. There was something there between them. She had to be on her guard with Lucius at all times. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—fall prey to his charms like most of the women he encountered.
She was in the elevator and the doors had nearly shut when Lucius caught up to her and worked them open with his large hands before stepping inside.
They were alone in the elevator.
Lucius glanced at the elevator buttons. “We’re on the same floor, fate is bringing us together.”
Then he walked purposely toward her, and Naomi automatically shrank back a couple of steps. But when she did, her back hit the wall—not a good position to be with a dangerously sexy man like Lucius. His hands splayed on either side of her face, caging her in.
“You do want me,” Lucius countered, “even if you won’t admit it.” He reached for a strand of her hair and twirled it around his index finger. “How about we put your resolve to the test, hmm?”
Naomi caught the challenging gleam in his eye right before his lips descended on hers. Naomi thought the kiss would be hard, but it was soft, as were his lips. She’d always wondered what they’d taste like, and now she knew. He sipped at her lips until she gasped and a low moan escaped her lungs. Lucius used it to his advantage, demanding full entry between her lips at the same time his hands slipped from the wall to cup her bottom so he could press her to him.
Naomi felt his hard, flat stomach and his broad chest as he held her firmly to him. She also felt the swell of his erection that sprang to life against her stomach. His hands ran up and down her body, and Naomi trembled.
Lucius lifted his head long enough to stroke her hair back from where some had fallen around her face, his eyes searching hers for a sign to stop. Finding none, he lowered his mouth once more to engage hers. He kissed her top lip, wetting and nibbling it with his tongue before going to her bottom lip. He sucked on it voraciously, and Naomi felt her nipples become taut and expectant. Of what?
Of Lucius’s mouth on them?
The elevator doors suddenly opened, and Naomi sprang from his embrace as if they were two randy teenagers caught making out underneath the bleachers. The bellman smiled at them both and pressed the button for the next floor.
Clearly, he knew what they’d been up to.
Did she?
What had possessed her to kiss Lucius back? Naomi knew what Lucius wanted, and she had no intention of succumbing. And as soon as the bellman was gone, she would tell him so.
She didn’t have to. Once he’d disembarked two floors up, Lucius turned to her. “That was bad timing. I should have waited until we were in my room.”
“Your room?” Naomi asked. Her shoulders squared. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Lucius’s hand rubbed his neatly cropped head. “Really? Are you going to act like you didn’t enjoy that kiss just now? Like if that bellman hadn’t interrupted us, you wouldn’t have been mine for the taking?”
“Of all the...” Naomi stabbed at the elevator button. She couldn’t wait for her floor to arrive.
Lucius leaned back against the wood paneling inside the elevator, regarding her quizzically. He watched the rise and fall of her chest, and his gaze immediately dropped from her eyes to her breasts. Was he assessing their size? Did he prefer huge breasts to her B-cup ones?
His eyes returned back to her face, and she felt flushed. He couldn’t know what she was thinking, could he?
“All right, Naomi. I’m going to let you go tonight.”
“Let me go?”
He smiled at the challenging tone in her voice. “That’s right. Because, trust me, if I tried, I could seduce you into my bed tonight, but I won’t. I want you to come there willingly.”
“There is no way in hell that’s happening.”
The elevator chimed and doors opened, indicating it was their floor. She stepped out and turned around long enough to hear Lucius say, “We’ll see. We’ll see.”
Chapter 4
Naomi was in a foul mood the next morning for the final day of the conference. She hadn’t slept well, having tossed and turned due to the melodramatic threat Lucius made the previous evening. He’d made it clear that the inevitability of them becoming lovers was a foregone conclusion.
Was he right?
Naomi didn’t want him to be.
Or did she?
He was right in that they had chemistry in spades, but how could there not be when he stared at her like he was dying of thirst in the desert and she was his oasis? It was enough to put any red-blooded woman on alert.
Once she’d returned to her hotel room, her mind had gone haywire. The memory of Lucius kissing her, his tongue delving deep inside her mouth, the way her nipples had turned rock hard along with the telltale sign of wetness between her legs, tormented her. It had been shocking how turned on she was by one kiss from Lucius. Naomi’s face flamed at the realization she’d wanted him—or at least her body did.
Was this a sign that her former crush on Lucius had never gone away and instead had just been buried deep in the recesses of her mind until his kiss brought it forward?
Why did this have to happen now? When she might possibly have to fight to keep her company? If Kelsey did indeed want to dissolve their partnership and sell her shares, it would leave Naomi vulnerable to an attack from Knight International. And not just on the business front. Lucius was coming for her personally.
She’d seen the determined look in his eye last night as the elevators doors shut. A look that told Naomi he meant to have her.
Would she be strong enough to fight him off when her own traitorous body found him irresistible?
* * *
Lucius woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed given there was no valet or butler to assist him for the day. He was on his own. And perhaps that was just as well. He suspected that to get through to Naomi he would have to be himself.
There were no airs to Miss Brooks. Instead, she was a woman who appreciated the simple, basic things in life. So he was sure it came as a shock to her that she too could be led astray by the desires of the flesh. She’d probably been bedding nice guys who had no idea how to bring out the vivacious woman he’d seen last night.
But she was there. He’d seen it in her eyes and body language.
And he was just the man to bring out the sensual side of her nature. Once he got her alone, he would seduce her. Last night, when his hands had roamed over her body, he’d had just a sample of what it would be like to touch that beautiful body of hers, and he craved more.
An added bonus was that while he was rattling Naomi’s cage, Adam would be working on Kelsey. The soon-to-be second-time mother might be his way to get enough shares of Brooks and Johnson for a takeover.
But first things first—he had a certain woman to woo.
Downstairs in the convention center, Lucius discovered that finding Naomi wasn’t all that easy. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think she was avoiding him. After reading the itinerary for the second day of the expo, he attended a lecture he’d thought would surely interest her, but when he’d arrived he’d found the lady wasn’t in attendance. Nor was she in the second lecture later that morning.
Lucius was quickly becoming annoyed that he’d yet to spot her—until he arrived at the trade show. Naomi was standing in front of her display talking to several customers. And she was doing a heck of a job. She’d convinced him, and he was only standing a few feet away.
She looked feminine in a sleeveless pink wraparound top and gray slacks and pink peep-toe pumps. Glittering silver earrings adorned her ears and only emphasized her beautiful face, on which she wore very little makeup other than a touch of blush, mascara and pink lipstick.
When she was done and had handed her business card to one of the customers, he applauded her.
She turned, and when she saw him, her smile faded. “Lucius.”
“Good morning,” he responded, not allowing her lackluster response to faze him. “I missed you this morning.”
“Duty calls.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“One of my salespeople came down with a bad case of food poisoning and is currently in their room praying to the porcelain god, so I’m here in their stead.”
“So it wasn’t my charming personality that kept you away?”
“You wish.” Naomi bent down and retrieved several cellophane-wrapped Brooks and Johnson products from underneath her display table.
“I was actually hoping I could steal you away and talk about how Brooks and Johnson might benefit from being part of Knight International.”
“Changing tactics, I see,” Naomi stated. She began stacking the promotional items on the table. “I have executives that handle that kind of stuff for me. Besides I’m needed here.”
“Don’t hide behind your work,” Lucius responded, glancing around him. “The trade show is going to slow down for lunch anyway, and you have to eat.”
Naomi let out a long, beleaguered sigh. “Fine. If it’ll get you off my back.” She turned and whispered something to her staff.
Lunch at a nearby bistro was not only delicious, but the conversation was less charged than their previous encounters. The change of flow seemed to please Naomi immensely, and she became more at ease during the course of the meal. They talked about politics. The Lakers. Even some charity work she’d started doing. Until eventually the conversation turned to business and the purpose for the lunch.
Lucius explained the reach of Knight International and how having a distribution arm like his would allow Brooks and Johnson to not only be a national phenomenon but an international success. “We could sell B and J products in stores abroad.”
“That’s all fine and good, Lucius,” Naomi responded, “but I’m happy with where the company is right now.”
“C’mon, don’t tell me you don’t have big dreams.”
“I do, but I also want to be approachable. I can’t do that overseas. I do want a family someday.”
Lucius frowned. Family. There was a dirty word in his vocabulary, and one he wasn’t altogether fond of. If it wasn’t for his grandma Ruby, he wouldn’t have any to speak of.
Naomi caught his frown, because she asked, “Are you not close with your family?”
His sat upright in his chair, his shoulders stiff. “No, I’m not.”
She must have detected his body language and the note of finality in his tone, which said he didn’t wish to continue on the subject, because she dropped it. “I have to get back.” Naomi used the napkin in her lap to wipe her mouth.
“So that’s it?” Lucius asked. “You’re not going to give my proposal any more thought?”
Naomi’s eyes narrowed. “I did. I gave you the benefit of lunch and you didn’t convince me that the company I started, I nurtured since infancy, belongs with someone who doesn’t even believe in the word family. Good day, Lucius.”
Lucius stared at Naomi’s retreating figure as she went through the revolving doors of the bistro. How had their lunch gone so horribly wrong? He’d been certain he could convince her that Knight International was the next logical step in the evolution of Brooks and Johnson. But not only had he failed at that, he’d also struck a nerve with Naomi when he’d cut down her attempt to open up about his family.
Had he killed any hope that Naomi Brooks would ever give him the time of day again?
* * *
“You won’t believe who was at the conference,” Naomi told Kelsey the next day when she made it back to Long Beach and phoned her friend from her three-bedroom craftsman-style bungalow in Belmont Heights’ historic district.
“Who?” Kelsey asked from the other end of the line.
“Lucius Knight,” Naomi replied, placing the teakettle on the stove.
“Lucius. Now there’s a blast from the past,” Kelsey responded. “You haven’t spoken of him since college, when you told me about the monumental crush you had on him.”
“Yeah, well, that ship has sailed,” Naomi responded, turning on the burner. “He’s not the bad boy of every teenage girl’s fantasy anymore. Instead, he’s a pompous, arrogant, conceited jerk.”
“Wow!” Kelsey laughed. “I’ve never heard you speak that way about someone. He must have really gotten your goat.”
“He did.”
“What happened? Do tell—married women such as myself have to entertain ourselves with sexy single girl stories.”
“Wh-what? There’s no sex in this story.”
“Naomi, chill. I was just kidding. What’s gotten into you?” Kelsey inquired. “Did seeing Lucius again really upset you that much?”
Naomi sighed. “Yes—I mean, no.”
“Which is it?”
“He was just so smug and confident, saying that I’m attracted to him and that we would eventually sleep together.”
Kelsey perked up. “Oh, really? And why would he think that? Did you give him fodder to think he’d have the time of day?”
“No...”
“Hmm...it sounds like you’re not being one hundred with me, Naomi. Give up the goods. What happened between you two?”
“All right, all right. We kissed,” Naomi answered in a rush as she leaned back against the counter to wait for the teakettle to boil. “Are you happy now?”
“I would be if you were happy about it. Was he a terribly bad kisser? You know, the ones that slobber all over you, or their tongue is like a lizard darting in and out of your mouth. I used to hate that when I dated. If a man didn’t know how to kiss, he got the boot.”
Naomi chuckled. “I wish that was the case, but Lucius is far from being a bad kisser. In fact, he’s the best kisser I’ve ever had.”
“Is that a fact?”
“It is. And that’s also why I have to stay away from him.”
“Why? What’s wrong with having a little fun? If his reputation is anything to go by, Lucius knows how to treat—or should I say please—a woman. Perhaps Lucius, with his exceptional expertise, is exactly what you need to light your fire.”
“Kelsey.”
“I’m just being honest. When was your last date? Or relationship?”
“Lucius Knight isn’t interested in a relationship with me. He’s interested in sleeping with me and buying my company, and not necessarily in that order.”
“That’s true.”
Naomi stood upright. “Why are you agreeing? Did something happen while I was away?”
“His attorney Adam Powell came to see me.”
“And why would he do that?” Once the kettle began to whistle, Naomi turned off the burner and poured the boiling water in a teacup.
“To offer me an outrageous sum of money to sell my shares.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“No, of course. I would never do that to you, Naomi, and not to our friendship. I promised you I would take time to think through my decision, and I’m doing just that. No amount of money thrown at me would change that.”
Naomi released the long sigh she’d been holding in. “Thank you, Kels. I guess I just got a little nervous, is all.”
“What I want to know is how would they even know to come to me out of the two of us?”
Naomi rubbed her chin and thought about Kelsey’s questions. “Clearly, they were looking for the weak link, and they think you’re it, given you’re married with a child and another on the way. It’s apparent that Lucius doesn’t play fair and is looking for my Achilles’ heel.”
It was just another thing that Naomi was finding she didn’t like about the man other than his proclivity against family. Or was it marriage and children? Or all of the above?
* * *
Lucius was angry. He’d called and left repeated messages on both Naomi’s cell phone and at her office, and yet she continued to ignore him. He’d thought at the very least he and Naomi had formed a pseudofriendship during the couple of days they’d spent in Anaheim.
On their last day together, he’d tried to show her that if they worked as a team, Brooks and Johnson’s transition into the Knight International brand would be seamless, but Naomi wanted none of it. Or maybe her ire went deeper? Was she upset because he’d come on so strong about their obvious attraction? Was this her way of telling him to take a hike? If so, she was wrong on that score.
Lucius never gave up on something he wanted. He wanted Naomi. And her company.
Since returning from Anaheim nearly a week ago, he’d dived back into work full force, trying to erase the memory of the curly-haired beauty from his mind, but he couldn’t. He would daydream about what it had been like to kiss her in that elevator, and his dreams went farther into what would have happened if that door had never opened.
He imagined taking Naomi against the wall. He’d have stripped her of any clothes, spread her legs and licked her until she begged him to make love to her. Only then would he have pushed down his jeans and plunged deep inside her wet heat. He knew she’d been wet for him. The way she’d squirmed in his arms had told him exactly what he’d needed to know. Naomi was as hot for him as he was for her.
He just had to get the woman to admit it.
She was as stubborn as a mule, and this last week had proved so. But he wasn’t going to take this lying down. He was going to make Naomi acknowledge that not only was Brooks and Johnson a good fit for his brand, but more importantly, Naomi was a good fit for him.
Chapter 5
Naomi called it quits. It had been a long day. A late one, actually—she’d stayed well past 6:00 p.m. But it had been worth it. Today’s think tank meeting had yielded some great ideas for the product line.
She waved at the security guard manning the entrance to the building as she made her way outside. One of the perks of having her own company was she got a prime parking space right outside the building rather than having to use the parking garage in the rear.
Naomi pushed open the glass door and breathed in the cool night air. She quickly buttoned up her peacoat and glanced up at the sky. Fall was here, and it felt good.
Or at least so she thought, until her gaze lowered and she saw Lucius standing outside a limousine several feet away.
“Join me for dinner?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Lucius.” Naomi started toward her Audi A5 coupe that was parked several feet away, but Lucius rose from where he’d been leaning and blocked her path.
“Please.”
Naomi was sure Lucius never used that word often. He was used to issuing commands and people followed them, but he wasn’t doing that now. Her head told her to keep walking, but instead, she walked toward the limousine. Lucius reached across and opened the door, and Naomi climbed inside. She scooted onto the plush leather passenger cushions. The limo was well furnished, but then again, this was how the rich and famous lived, right?
Lucius slid in beside her, and when he did, Naomi swallowed tightly and her pulse skittered alarmingly at being so close to Lucius. “And where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” Lucius said. “Just sit back and relax.” He pressed on the intercom button and said to the driver, “You know the destination.”
* * *
Lucius didn’t like that Naomi was uneasy around him. Her guard was up and he wanted to get through to her, get her to see that he had a solid plan for Brooks and Johnson. An added benefit would be her becoming putty in his hands when he seduced her.
He did not, however, like the look of fear in her eyes, and so he engaged her in conversation. “You can stop fearing for your safety, Naomi. I won’t harm you.”
He watched her shoulders visibly sag. “I wanted to speak with you, but you didn’t really give me much choice since you’ve ignored my calls.
“Perhaps there was nothing you had to say that I would be interested in.”
“Ah.” His index finger circled her face. “There’s the feisty Naomi I know and like.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.”
“No?” Lucius said. “Let’s see if that holds true at the end of the night.”
“You think you’ll make it that long?”
“Until you’ve listened again to my pitch. After that—” he shrugged “—I’m going to guess that you won’t want to.”
Naomi folded her arms across her chest. “You don’t know that.”
“I know that you’re curious as to why I contacted you and why I waited for you tonight.”
“You waited for me?” Naomi’s brow furrowed.
Lucius didn’t speak, he just let Naomi marinate on that thought while he reached for the bottle of champagne that was chilling in the bucket beside him. “An aperitif?”
“I suppose. I’m not much of a drinker. So why is it I only seem to drink around you?”
“Perhaps it’s a way for you to release your inhibitions.”
That comment brought a frown from Naomi, and she turned to silently stare out the window while Lucius uncorked and poured each of them a glass of champagne. “Here.” He held out the flute to her. She accepted but didn’t look at him.
“Naomi, this night will turn out far better if you perhaps acknowledge that you don’t dislike me as much as you protest.”
Her head spun around, and she glared at him underneath mascara-coated lashes. He noticed that she had more makeup on than he’d seen her wear on prior occasions. She was more put together, in a black and tweed dress that reached her knees and black pumps. Lucius didn’t like this stuffy Naomi. He much preferred the natural, more organic Naomi, who was more comfortable in jeans and a tank top.
She finally spoke. “I—I don’t dislike you.”
“What then?”
“As I said before, you’re arrogant, but I also find you untrustworthy and unscrupulous.”
“Unscrupulous? That’s a strong word.”
“Did you or did you not send your attorney to speak with my partner, Kelsey, while I was in Anaheim so you could double-team us?”
Lucius sipped his champagne. So she knew about that? No wonder she’d ignored his calls.
“Are you going to deny it?” she asked when he didn’t answer.
“No, that would be dishonest,” he responded curtly.
“Which proves my point.” Naomi took another gulp of champagne. “I can’t trust you.”
He turned to face her. “Do you want to?”
“Wh-what?”
“You heard the question. Why does my behavior bother you so, Naomi?” His steady gaze bored into her in silent expectation.