One corner of his mouth turned up. “Yes.”
Why on earth would he want to do that with her again? Last time, he’d left so fast, there’d been skid marks on the floor. Did he think she’d gotten better? Had he forgotten what it was like between them? Did he want to humiliate her again?
“Us living together is not negotiable,” he added.
“Then there’s no deal. I won’t agree to that.”
He shrugged. “As you wish.”
He turned and walked away.
Lexi watched him go. But instead of Cruz’s broad shoulders, she saw the front entryway to her day spa. The gleaming hardwood floors with the stain she’d chosen herself. The collection of cosmetics and skin care. She could smell the fresh flowers, see the guests in the relaxation room, feel the breeze from the lazy ceiling fans.
If she got a conventional loan, her father would find out. He would ask questions and learn she’d made a mistake. She would lose her chance at Titan World Enterprises. She would lose everything.
Or she could get the money from Cruz and win it all. Was that worth six months of her life?
Indecision made her stomach hurt. It wasn’t the engagement, it was the idea of sharing a bed with him. Again. Even worse, she understood his point. Staff
Could she do it? Was it worth it?
“Then I have conditions, as well,” she called, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking.
He came to a stop, then turned back to her. One eyebrow raised.
“Fidelity,” she said. “If you expect me to sleep with you, you won’t sleep with anyone else.”
For the second time his gaze dropped to her feet before slowly moving up her body. “Do you think you have it in you to satisfy me?”
Not even on her best day, but that wasn’t the point. “I don’t actually care. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”
“You’re not in a position of power, Lexi. You need the money.”
“I need a loan,” she bluffed, aware that going to a bank wasn’t an option. “Anyone can give me a check, but there aren’t that many women who can give you what you want. I
He nodded. “As you wish.”
Just like that? He was an attractive man, with an explosive sex drive, from what she remembered. “If you cheat, I walk and I tell everyone what you did. That will slam shut all the doors I opened.”
“Agreed. And you’ll do the same. Give up your men.”
“Sure.” There wasn’t anyone to give up. Sad, but true.
“At the end of the six months, we’ll part,” he said. “It will end.”
“I get that.”
“There is nothing you can say or do to make me stay.” One corner of his mouth turned up. “Some have made the mistake of falling in love with me.”
She wanted to roll her eyes. “I guess the advantage of your ego is the workout you get from carrying it around. You probably never have to go to the gym. Don’t worry, Cruz. You’re not all that. At the end of the six months, I’ll let you go and never look back.”
“Good. Then we have a deal.”
“I want one more thing. I want to find out who’s trying to hurt my company. The way this was done feels personal. I want to know who did this to me and why.”
“What makes you think I have access to that kind of information?”
“Every fiber of my being. You can find things out. I want to know.” She wanted to understand and then, because she was a Titan, she wanted revenge.
“Done,” he said and moved toward her. “Anything else?”
It was impossible to think with him invading her personal space. She took a step back. “I, ah, think that’s everything.”
“Good. You’ll have a cashier’s check first thing in the morning.”
So they were finished. They should seal the deal somehow. But he was moving closer again and shaking on it seemed foolish. Especially when he put one hand on her waist and drew her toward him.
She wanted to hold back. Being close to Cruz had never been her smartest move. She needed to keep her brain functioning. Protect herself at any cost. The man was-
He lowered his head and kissed her. A deep, hot kiss that claimed and took and stole her will. His lips were firm and warm. His mouth moved against hers. The movement itself wasn’t all that different, all that spectacular. She should have been able to resist. But this was Cruz and she couldn’t.
His arms came around her, but there was no need for him to pull her close. She went willingly, wanting to melt into him, needing to touch everywhere. His hard, muscled body provided a safe haven, while the heat of his tongue on her lower lip promised plenty of good times.
She parted for him, then shuddered as he slipped into her mouth. Sparks jolted through her. She clutched at his shoulders, then ran her hands up and down his back.
He tasted like Scotch and sin and sex. However deeply he kissed her, it wasn’t enough. It could never be enough. Heat surrounded her. She wanted to breathe in all of him.
Need pulsed in time with her rapid heartbeat. She ached with a desperation that terrified her. She knew that if he took her right that second, she would come until she was screaming with pleasure and she didn’t care who saw.
The image was so real she shuddered, then pulled back, afraid she would give in. That she would beg. She who had always been so carefully controlled in bed…except with him.
They stared at each other. At least he was breathing hard. She wasn’t the only one affected by their kiss.
“We’ll have an interesting journey,” he said. “You have a week to get your personal affairs in order. I’ll leave my address and a house key with the check tomorrow.”
Then he was gone, fading into the night, leaving her alone on the balcony of the house where she’d grown up.
If it wasn’t for the sexual hunger coursing through her body, she could almost convince herself that none of this had happened. That she hadn’t really sold, if not her soul, then at least her body, to Cruz Rodriguez for two million dollars.
“It’s the price of doing business,” she murmured to herself.
And what her father had always taught her. To get what you wanted, then you had to be willing to pay the price.
As long as it wasn’t more than just her time and her body. As long as she remembered to make sure it was never her heart.
THE HEADQUARTERS for Cruz Control were between Dallas and Fort Worth, on a ten-acre plot of land that Cruz could easily sell for ten times what he’d paid for it. Developers constantly came calling. He listened, then tossed them out. He was plenty rich, so he didn’t need the money, although he did enjoy having what everyone else wanted.
Behind the five-story building was the garage he’d always dreamed about when he’d been growing up. But the five bays had grown into twenty. There was a test course behind the garage, a separate area for experimental cars and the constant sound of engines. It was his favorite place in the world.
He stopped just inside the garage to survey what he had built. Sometimes he forgot where he’d come from, but this morning the past seemed especially close and vivid-as if he could reach out and touch the angry twelve-year- old kid he’d been. The kid who’d vowed he would do more than survive and get by. That he would make it and command respect everywhere he went.
He heard someone call his name. Manny, his manager and best friend, waved him over.
“The brakes are screwy,” Manny said with a grimace. “The design is a mess. I need to go over it again, unless you want to.”
“Not today.” Cruz felt too restless to pour over a design. That kind of detail work required concentration and he couldn’t seem to control his thoughts.
