Scandalous Billionaire (Titans Book 5) Read online

  “No. Unfortunately she’s traveling.”

  “Will you give her my regards?” To make a getaway, she switched back to a role she knew well—hospitality. “May I offer you a glass of champagne? There’s also a full bar with your favorite whiskey.”

  “I’ve kept you long enough. I apologize.”

  “Ah, Rafe!”

  Even though he was behind her, Braden’s deep, sensual voice drizzled down her spine. “Enjoy your evening,” she said to her boss. She started to walk away, but Braden was there, momentarily touching her back while taking his place beside her.

  “How are you?” The two men shook hands. In the reflection of the light, she realized that Rafe also had an owl on his ring. “I see you’ve met Lizzie.”

  “I’ve known Elizabeth for some time. In fact, she’s one of Sterling’s greatest assets.”

  “Oh?” Braden asked as he lowered his hand.

  “She’s one of my openers.” When Braden didn’t respond, Rafe went on with an explanation. “Every time we open a new property, I assign someone to oversee every aspect—sales, food and beverage, training, customer service, amenities, IT, that sort of thing. Of course, each department has its own manager, but they all report to that one key person until I bring on an operations director. The opener stays on the job through the first few weeks to ensure a smooth transition. It’s a relatively new position, and we’ve found it adds a layer of continuity that was sometimes missing.”

  “Impressive. I had no idea.” Braden placed his hand on her again, this time in the spot where the dress plunged into the deep V. His touch was as intimate as it was proprietorial. Turning toward her, he went on. “You know how to run every department in the hotel and take care of all the details that go into the grand opening?”

  Uncomfortable at being the center of attention, as well as with the way her body was responding to Braden with a rush of pheromones, she shrugged. “Mr. Sterling is generous. His training program was comprehensive.”

  “As you might imagine, I don’t hire from the outside for this position. I recruit from the top one percent of my team.”

  “Aren’t you afraid someone will steal her away?”

  What the hell kind of question was that? And how was Rafe supposed to answer it? In silent warning, she unobtrusively placed her stiletto on Braden’s foot. If he continued, she wouldn’t hesitate to bring him to his knees.

  “Am I afraid someone will steal her away? Every damn day.” With an eyebrow raised, Rafe considered Braden. “Should I be?”

  Suddenly this was beyond absurd. “Gentlemen, Sterling Worldwide has my complete loyalty. I intend to be there as long as they will have me. If you’ll excuse me?”

  Lizzie escaped Braden’s heated touch and hurried inside of the house, where she paused for a second to collect herself. She took a steadying breath and reminded herself she was a professional businesswoman, and she was here tonight as part of the staff.

  Her mother was frowning. Obviously, from her vantage point behind the kitchen island, she’d seen the entire exchange. Damn.

  “What is it?” Lizzie asked.

  “They’re both still watching you.”

  Every one of Lizzie’s impulses demanded that she look over her shoulder, and it took all of her self-control not to.

  “What is all that about?” Eileen asked.

  “I honestly have no idea.” Lizzie shook her head. Braden Gallagher had acted possessive of her, in front of her boss, which was absurd. She and Braden had shared a kiss or two, hardly enough for him to feel as if he had the right to behave that way. “What can I help with?” She diverted her mother back to party responsibilities, which was Lizzie’s best way out of the conversation. After all, there was no way she was going to confess that she’d behaved badly with Braden a few minutes ago.

  One of the bartenders popped her head inside the room. “We need more champagne.”

  Lizzie seized the opportunity to escape. “I’ll handle it.”

  “Do you know where it is?” Eileen pointed toward the farthest end of the house. “In the study.”

  Interesting. That was one of the few rooms in the house that she’d never been in. Though her mother dusted and swept the room periodically, Braden reportedly never used it. The space had been designed by his grandfather and then occupied by his father, but Braden had opted to have an office upstairs.

  At the end of the hallway, Lizzie turned the handle and pushed the door open. No wonder he didn’t come in here. With its oak paneling and heavy leather furniture and a Tiffany lamp, it was all but a shrine to a bygone era. Trophies lined built-in shelves. College pennants and Greek symbols were tacked up. Framed pictures were hung from the walls.

  Though she should grab a few bottles of champagne from the refrigerator that had been temporarily installed in the room, she couldn’t resist a closer look at the black-and-white photographs. She recognized Braden’s grandfather shaking hands with a man who’d been the president of the United States. In another he was standing next to an astronaut.

  She glanced around, taking in the rest of the photos, some featuring Braden’s father. There were a number of people she didn’t recognize in the shots, but more than a few that she did. Actors, performers, politicians, scientists.

  On the oversize and intricately carved desk, there was an owl with emerald eyes, flanked by laurel leaves—a much larger replica of the one on Braden’s ring.

  Intrigued, she returned to the photo of Braden’s grandfather shaking hands with the president.

  Both of their rings bore the same owl.

  She glanced around again, taking in the lowercase Greek Z on a banner. What in the world? Some sort of fraternity? It was another reminder of how little she knew about the man who’d kissed her.

  From outside, the sound of laughter reached her, jolting her back to reality.

  Quickly, she grabbed half a dozen bottles of champagne, loaded them into a box, then hurried back to the kitchen, where she gave them to the party planner, who’d been on her way to find out what was keeping Lizzie.

  Eileen frowned at her.

  “I was being nosy. Is Braden in a fraternity?”

  “Of a sort.” Eileen turned on the faucet and began rinsing dishes.

  Odd. Her mother wasn’t generally evasive, which heightened Lizzie’s curiosity. “Along with the president of the United States?” Maybe it was a college thing. No doubt all the Gallagher men had attended the same one.

  “Hmm.”

  “Mom?”

  “If you want to know anything more, you will have to ask Braden.” With that, Eileen returned to work.

  Waitstaff began letting guests know that dinner was being served in the tents. Afterward, there would be announcements and a toast celebrating Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher’s anniversary. Cake and coffee would follow, and at the same time, the quartet would begin playing in the ballroom.

  Because they had a short break, Lizzie and her mother ate a small meal in the kitchen. Eileen steered the conversation toward their own family.

  “Will you be there tomorrow night?”

  Lizzie’s aunt Virginia had married into a large Latino family, and she’d enthusiastically embraced the culture. Now every Sunday, Virginia made dinner for anyone who wanted to come over. Recently, one of her sons had started distilling his own tequila, and each time he came, he brought a bottle or two. The gathering was now known as the Triple T—tamales, tacos, and tequila. Some weeks only a few people showed up, but at times, there were as many as thirty attendees.

  “Sandra is bringing the baby.”

  “Then I’ll definitely be there.” Lizzie grinned. She hadn’t gotten to meet her cousin’s newborn, and she was looking forward to snuggling the little bundle of joy.

  Their conversation was interrupted by the party planner entering the house. “Do you mind letting the band know it’s time for them to start?”

  “Happy to.” After snatching a mint from a bowl on the counter, Lizzie went into the ballro
om and chatted with the band, making sure that they had beverages. Then she double-checked that the two people behind the small makeshift bar were all set.

  “We may need some more bottled water. It’s pretty hot tonight.”

  “Good idea.”

  A half hour later, as more and more people drifted inside, the atmosphere around her became supercharged. Braden. Even without seeing him or hearing him speak, she knew he was there.

  “Dance with me?”

  His deep and rich voice slid over her, awakening an immediate response in her. Despite her best efforts to avoid him, he’d found her, making her wonder if he’d been looking for her.

  Lizzie turned to face him, all the while looking for an excuse to escape. A few couples were already swaying to an old Frank Sinatra song. The bartender in the corner was mixing a drink. Everything was under control. “I was just going to check on…” What? The idea of being in his arms again made rational thought vanish. In a rushed whisper, she finished her sentence. “Something.”

  “I’m sure you won’t be missed for the next three minutes.”

  How could he not understand her position? “I can’t.” She couldn’t, no matter how much she wanted to. “The host doesn’t fraternize with the help.”

  “Fraternize, is it?” A smile played around his mouth.

  Since he’d found her in his closet, he’d been gruff, serious, and enticingly sexy. But this softer side of him was irresistible. “People will talk.”

  “I don’t spend a lot of time concerned about that.”

  “You might not. But I do.” Her mom would have questions, and perhaps his mother as well.

  He shrugged. “You’re the help. Do I understand that correctly? So in this instance, it makes me your boss?”

  “Don’t.” She saw where he was going. “That’s sneaky, using my words against me.” The billionaire was as determined as he was clever.

  “It’s only a dance.” His voice was persuasive. “In front of all these people.” He waved his hand, then leaned in a little closer. “It’s not an all-out attempt at seduction.”

  Oh, but it is. And it was working.

  “There are only about two minutes left in the song. What harm could there be?”

  To her? A lot. She wasn’t a woman capable of switching her emotions on and off.

  “We can do it here. Away from prying eyes.”

  “Braden.”

  “Say yes.”

  Without giving her time to protest, he wrapped his arms around her, claiming her the moment she agreed.

  Braden held her tight, as if he never wanted to let her go. At first, she held her body rigid, but he was a force of nature, and she was powerless to resist him.

  “We fit together nice.”

  He was right, but for the sake of her sanity, she couldn’t agree.

  “Makes me wonder what else would be perfect between us.”

  For a moment, no one else existed, and she realized why so many women fell for him. She’d been tempting fate when she bought this dress, swiped on the lipstick, and dabbed on the drops of fragrance.

  His grip was light, and for one tantalizing minute, she wondered what it might be like if she were his social equal, if he was interested in her as a woman. Since both thoughts were ludicrous, she shooed them away.

  She had found success in her life because she didn’t allow men to distract her. Lizzie told herself to remember that.

  When the song ended, she pulled back, desperate to get away. “Thank you.” She forced a polite smile as she reminded herself that it had only been yesterday that she’d found his tie under the couch in the living room.

  This billionaire was a complete scoundrel. And Elizabeth Ryan was too smart to become another in his long line of conquests.

  “You should stay.”

  Shocked, Lizzie turned. Braden’s shoulders were propped on one of the thick sliding-glass partitions that had recently been closed.

  Outside, a few torches still flickered, and the fairy lights danced in the gentle breeze. The party had ended almost an hour ago, but it had taken that long for the caterers to clean up and for her and her mother to put the kitchen to rights again.

  Lizzie had walked her mother to her car before returning for her cell phone to request a car.

  It had been a long night. Her feet throbbed, and she longed to slip out of her heels. At the very least, she should have brought a second pair of shoes to change into. But when she left the house, she’d been thinking about what would complement the dress…and about the way her calves would look in them.

  “I mean it. There’s no need to leave.”

  His suggestion was ludicrous, and she needed to refuse right away.

  “It’s late.” He glanced at the massive clock on the kitchen wall and winced. “Or early, depending on your point of view.”

  All the more reason for her to leave now.

  “You’ve been working hard on this event for at least two days. I’ve got a soaker tub you might enjoy.”

  Her rented home was small and only had a shower in the master suite, and there were times she missed taking a long bath. But she wasn’t an idiot. She knew there was only one soaker tub in his house. And that was in the master suite.

  “I have plenty of guest rooms.” He grinned. “Not really sure how many.”

  “Eight.” She knew; after all, there’d been many times she’d helped her mother change the sheets on all of the beds.

  “I give you my word as a gentleman that I’ll behave.” He raised his right hand.

  That was the biggest part of this whole problem. Part of her didn’t want him to keep his distance. She wanted to be ravaged by him, swept away for once in her life.

  “You can be asleep before you’d even arrive home—well, depending on where you live in the city.”

  After their dance earlier, she’d done her best to avoid Braden. That wasn’t easy, though. All of her instincts were attuned to him. If he came within fifty feet of her, tiny goose bumps chased down her arms. She could pick out the timbre of his baritone voice in a roomful of men.

  Now, he was even more enticing. He’d discarded his jacket and unknotted his bow tie, leaving the ends dangling starkly against his crisp white shirt. The look was every bit as sexy as she’d earlier imagined it might be.

  “What do you say?”

  Survival instinct screamed no. But instead, she exhaled a shaky breath and gave him a wobbly grin. “You had me at soaker tub.”

  Chapter Three

  Spending the night at Braden’s house was not one of Lizzie’s smartest decisions.

  She’d been soaking in the tub with her head tipped back and her eyes closed, luxuriating in the magnificence of the moment, until she heard him moving about in his bedroom, and his closet.

  Because she was afraid of seeing him naked, she lowered herself a little, until her shoulders were under the water, and she stayed that way for far too long. Finally, when the water chilled enough to make her teeth chatter, she stepped out, then dried off with one of his big fluffy towels. Then she slipped into a T-shirt that he’d given her. The hem came to midthigh, and she told herself it wasn’t skimpy. After all, it covered more of her than her dress had.

  His shirt smelled like him, even though that was impossible. It had been folded on a shelf, fresh from the laundry. But to her it was snuggly and warm, and it held a slight scent of spice.

  When she emerged from the bathroom, he was nowhere to be found. She rolled her eyes heavenward in a little show of gratitude. Then she chided herself for hiding out in the first place. If she’d been a little braver, she could have already been in bed.

  After another quick glance around, she dashed toward the bedroom she’d selected. It was on the opposite side of the house, as far away from Braden as she could get. Once the door clicked closed, she hurried to the bed, where she yanked the covers up to her chin and listened for sounds of him. The air conditioner kicked on, and its whisper was enough to make any other sound impo
ssible to discern.

  A few minutes later, she turned over and closed her eyes, only to pop them open almost right away.

  Telling herself to stop being ridiculous, that Braden wasn’t standing there waiting to take advantage of her, she drew a steadying breath and tried again. Each time she started to drift off to sleep, memories of their time together rushed through her mind, one after the other, each vivid in color and emotion. She replayed the scene in his closet, then the one where he’d pulled her behind a palm. His kisses, from intense to promising, had each been stimulating, and they’d evoked unique responses in her.

  And there were the toys she’d found in his bedroom…

  Until yesterday, she’d never had much of a desire to experiment sexually. But now, she pictured herself tied for his pleasure, maybe even blindfolded. Shocking her, she even wondered what she might look like with his gag in her mouth.

  There was no way she was going to be able to sleep as long as they were both under the same roof. With his gorgeous smile and devastating intent, Braden Gallagher had started to dismantle every defense she’d erected to keep herself safe.

  In frustration, she tossed and turned for over an hour, unable to get comfortable, despite punching the pillow into numerous different shapes.

  Sometime after three, she gave up and climbed out of bed. She tiptoed to the door, then opened it a crack. The lights were out, and the house was quiet.

  Holding her breath, just in case, Lizzie crept down the cool marble stairs and padded into the kitchen.

  Because she’d spent countless hours here after school released for the day, this place was comfortable.

  Wondering if her mother still kept a pile of homemade chocolate chip cookies stashed away, Lizzie rooted through the pantry. “Yes,” she whispered as she triumphantly pulled out a canister.

  She carried it to the island then took a glass from a cupboard shelf and placed it on the counter before grabbing a carton of milk from the refrigerator.

  “Is there enough for two?”

  Lizzie screamed and jumped, nearly dropping the half-gallon container. How had she not heard him?