not and I won’t hear another word on it.” She used her most inflexible tone, the one that got contracts altered and had suppliers promising early deliveries. “I’m not your responsibility.”
His sigh was long and filled with irritation. “Will you do me a favor then, and at least call me when you get home?”
Olivia stared. She was used to taking care of herself and his request seemed more than absurd. “Why?”
“So I know you made it home okay.”
“Tony, you can’t start feeling responsible for me. That’s breaking one of the rules, isn’t it? I’m a big girl, and I know how to manage on my own. So don’t worry.”
“Call me.”
He was insistent, using his own invaluable, corporate tone, and she could tell by his stubborn stance he wasn’t going to relent. She didn’t think it was a good idea, but she gave in anyway. “Okay. But only this once.”
“Thanks.” He was grinning hugely.
“You’re not a gracious winner, Tony.”
“I haven’t won yet. Hell, I’ve still got a whole room full of relatives who are going to burst with rapid-fire questions as soon as I step back inside. Now that you’re gone and therefore can’t be offended, they’ll revert to their normal unrestrained selves.”
She knew he was teasing, knew he was very close to his family, and for that reason she suffered not a single twinge of guilt for leaving him to his fate. She stepped into the cab, and Tony came to lean inside, ignoring the cabdriver and giving her a quick kiss.
“Tomorrow, Olivia. Then I’ll win.”
He was taunting her, but she only grinned. It was in her nature to give as good as she got, so when he started to pull away, she caught his neck and drew him back for another kiss, this one much longer and hotter than the first. And while he was trying to catch his breath, she whispered, “We’ll both win.”
Tony chuckled. But as he stepped away from the cab, they both looked up. And there at the front door, huddled together as if for a kindergarten class picture, stood all of Tony’s family. And even with only the moon for light, Olivia could see the wide grins on all their faces.
TONY GLANCED AT THE CLOCK, but it was only seven in the morning, and he had no real reason to get up, not when he wouldn’t be seeing Olivia until ten. So he lingered in bed, thinking about her, about all that had happened the night before. Her vulnerability around his family stirred feelings he didn’t want to acknowledge—especially when concentrating on the lust she engendered was so much more satisfying.
Not one single minute had passed during the night when he could completely put Olivia and her allure from his mind. It was ridiculous, but he wanted her more now than he’d ever wanted any woman. Of course, she was so different from any other woman he knew. She made demands, but she also gave freely of herself. She was a veritable shark whenever they did business, but she ran her business fairly, and with a generous hand toward her workers. It was a belief he subscribed to: Treat your employees honestly, and you get honesty and loyalty in return.
They actually had a lot in common.
And yet there was a multitude of reasons why he couldn’t get overly involved with her. The very things he admired about her made her most unsuitable for an emotional relationship. He wanted a baby, pure and simple, someone to love him, and someone he could love without restrictions or qualifications. The baby would be his, only his, and Tony planned to smother the child with all the love he had inside him.
Olivia wanted a thriving business. She’d admitted she had no desire, no time for a family. She’d agreed to have his baby as part of a business deal, and while her agreement thrilled him, it also reemphasized the fact that business was still her main objective in life, while a baby was now his. He’d have to do his best to remember that.
The house was chilly when he finally rose and went to put on coffee. Naked except for a pair of snug cotton boxers, he felt the gooseflesh rise on his arms, but he ignored it. He needed a little cooling off if he was to deal with Olivia in a rational way.
He went into the bathroom and splashed water over his beard-rough face, then brushed his teeth while he waited for the coffee. Today, he thought, staring at his own contemplative expression in the mirror, he would get this business with Olivia back on an even keel. No more mingling with family, no more seeing her with a baby cuddled in her arms and an expression on her face that tore at his guts. He would view her with a detached eye and a reminder in his brain that she was a means to an end. They’d made an agreement, and it could be nothing more.
Not if he expected to escape this ordeal completely intact, with his heart whole and his mind sane.
He’d just poured his first cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. Padding barefoot into the living room, he leaned down to peer through the peephole and saw Olivia standing on his doorstep. A quick glance at the clock showed it to be only seven forty-five, and his first thought was that she was here to cancel, that something had come up and she had to go out of town; it wasn’t uncommon in her business. Every muscle in his body protested.
He jerked the door open, forgetting for the moment that he wasn’t even close to being dressed. Olivia took a long moment to stare at his chest, then down the length of his body before she lifted her gaze to his face.
“You’re rather hairy, aren’t you?”
“I’ll shave.”
Her lips quirked in a quick grin. “Your chest?”
If it would keep her from canceling. He only shrugged.
Tentatively she reached out and touched him, laying her palm flat where his heart beat in unsteady cadence. She stroked him, feeling him, tangling her fingers in his body hair. With a breathless whisper, she said, “I like it.”
Tony didn’t answer. He wasn’t certain he could answer. And then she looked up at him, her eyes huge and bright. “I couldn’t wait.”
He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. His hand shook as he set the cup of coffee on the entry table, then reached for her and pulled her inside. He needed to make certain he’d understood. “Olivia?”
She started to chatter. “I know you said ten, but we’re both off today, right? And I’m really not used to this, being aroused and yet having to wait. It’s terribly difficult. I couldn’t sleep last night…”
“Me, either.”
He couldn’t believe she was here, looking shy and determined and he wanted her as much as he’d ever wanted anything in his life. Everything he’d just been telling himself about keeping his emotional distance vanished. He couldn’t quite pry his hands from her shoulders, couldn’t force himself to take an emotional step back. He felt her softness beneath the coat, the way she straightened her shoulders to face him. Ah, that small show of bravado, so like her, so endearing. So damn sexy.
The brisk morning air coming through the open door did little to impress him. As he felt himself harden, his pulse quicken, Olivia pushed the door shut behind her, then set an overnight bag on the floor. His gaze dropped to it, and she rushed to explain. “I…Well, I felt a little risqué this morning. And it stands to reason your house should be safe now. I mean, lightning
