Jacob suspected the game had changed the instant Anna walked into that bar.

She was no longer a naive coed. She was a powerful businesswoman—confident, cool, in control. Formidable for her business pedigree, she came from one of the most successful entrepreneurial families in history. Other men in the bar had taken notice, too. Her beauty only upped the intimidation factor, with thick brown hair falling around her shoulders, a dancer’s grace and posture, and lips that suggested sweetness and hinted of a storm.

Anna’s lips had fallen on his once—a few scorching heartbeats still emblazoned in his memory. The way she pressed against him had resonated to his core. She’d been so eager to surrender her body, so ready to explore his. Turning her down, saying he’d betray his brotherly friendship with Adam if things went further, had been the upstanding thing to do.

He’d been raised as a gentleman and no gentleman made a move on his best friend’s sister, however tempting she might be. Anna had been astoundingly tempting.

Did he want to meet with gorgeous Anna Langford? The prospect, although ill-advised, was intriguing.

Pregnant by the Rival CEO

Karen Booth

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KAREN BOOTH is a Midwestern girl transplanted in the South, raised on ’80s music, Judy Blume and the films of John Hughes. She loves to write big-city love stories. When she takes a break from the art of romance, she’s teaching her kids about good music, honing her Southern cooking skills or sweet-talking her super-supportive husband into mixing up a cocktail. You can learn more about Karen at www.karenbooth.net.

In memory of Holly Gilliatt, brilliant author and fabulous friend. You taught me the importance of embracing the good and the sheer power of defying the bad.

Contents

Cover

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

One

“Strangle me? Isn’t that a little harsh?” Anna Langford gaped at her friend and coworker, Holly Louis.

The pair stood in the luxe lobby of The Miami Palm Hotel, just outside the bar. Anna was preparing to see her bold business plan to fruition. If only Holly could find it in her heart to say something encouraging.

“I’ve only been in a few meetings with your brother, but he’s going to hit the roof when he finds out you want to cut a deal with Jacob Lin.”

Anna glanced back over her shoulder. The bar was humming with people, all fellow attendees of the two-day Execu-Tech conference. As Senior Director of Technology Acquisitions for LangTel, the telecom her father had started before she was born, Anna had the job of scouting out the next big thing. Her brother Adam, current LangTel CEO, had been crystal clear—he expected to be dazzled.

The company had been floundering in the months since their father’s death, and Anna had a bead on a game-changing cellphone technology, only Adam didn’t know it. She was fairly sure that LangTel’s competitors hadn’t figured it out either. Unfortunately, getting to the next big thing meant going through Jacob Lin, and he absolutely hated her brother. Adam, without a doubt, despised him right back.

“That’s him, isn’t it?” Holly asked in a whisper, nodding in Jacob’s direction. “Damn. I’ve never seen him in person before. He’s fifty times hotter than in pictures.”

Tell me about it. Anna was well acquainted with Jacob Lin and his hotness. She’d been rebuffed by him and his hotness. Six years later and it still stung.

“Does he always have that aura?” Holly swirled her hand in the air. “The one that says he’s genetically superior to every man within a fifty-mile radius?”

Anna didn’t even need to look. “Yes, and he comes by it honestly. It’s not an act.”

“Wow.” Holly patted Anna’s shoulder. “Well, good luck. I’d say you’ll need it.”

“What?” Any confidence Anna had mustered was evaporating. “Do you really think it’s going to be that bad?”

“You’re a Langford. He hates your family. So, yes. I do think it’s going to be that bad.”

“Technically, I could order you to come with me. You’re a member of my team.”

Holly shook her head so fast it made her curly hair frizz. “My job description does not include suicide missions.”

Another wave of doubt hit Anna, but she did her best to brush it off. She had to do this. If she was ever going to convince her brother that it was okay to step aside and allow her to take over as CEO, just as he’d promised her before their father died, she had to make tough decisions and dangerous moves.

Holly wasn’t wrong, though. There was no telling how Jacob would react given his history with the Langford family. “I’m telling you right now, it’s going to be great.” Anna feigned conviction. “Jacob is a money guy and I can offer him a big pile of money. And once Adam sees how huge this could be for LangTel, he’ll get past the personal stuff, too. It’s business. Nothing else.”

“So what’s your plan to approach Mr. Hottie?”

“I’m going to ask the bartender to give him a note.”

Holly squinted one eye as if she had a migraine. “Oh, because that won’t seem weird?”

“I can’t call him,” Anna pled. “I don’t have his cell number.” The only number she had for Jacob was six years old, acquired during the week he spent with her family at Christmas, the year she fell for him, the year she’d kissed him. The year he’d told her “no.” That old cell number was no longer his. She’d tried it, and no dice.

“You can’t exactly go up to him and start talking either. You won’t just get the rumor mill going, you’ll set it on fire.”

“No. I can’t just walk up to him.” However ridiculous it sounded, if ever there was an understatement, that was it. Everyone in the tech world was aware of the feud between Adam Langford and Jacob Lin. The backstabbing had been ruthless and very public.

“If anyone can make the impossible happen, it’s you,” Holly said. “Text me later and let me know what happened. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Anna muttered. She straightened her blouse and strode into the room with her head held high, then sidled up to the only available seat at the bar. She discreetly took a piece of paper and pen from her purse. It was time to conjure her steeliest tendencies. No looking back now.

Jacob,

I’m sitting at the far end of the bar. I need to meet with you to discuss a business proposition. I thought it best not to approach you in the open considering the state of things between you and Adam. Text me if you’re interested.

Anna

She added her cell phone number and signaled to the bartender. She leaned forward, hoping the men sitting on either side of her wouldn’t hear. “I need you to give this to the gentleman seated in the corner. The tall one in the gray suit. Black hair.” She skipped the part about his ridiculously square jaw and sublime five o’clock shadow. She also left out his superhuman sexiness and his perfect, tawny complexion, the product of his Taiwanese and American background.

The bartender raised an eyebrow, looking down at the note.

Give me a break. Anna slid a ten-dollar bill across the bar.

The bartender swiped the money away. “Sure thing.”

“And a dirty martini when you get a chance. Three olives.” Liquid courage would be right on time. She scratched her head, striving to remain inconspicuous while studying Jacob. He ran his hand through his hair when he took the note from the bartender. She caught a glimpse of his deep brown eyes. It wasn’t hard to remember the way they lit up when he smiled, but she doubted her message would prompt such a response.

His forehead crinkled as he read. What was he thinking? That she was crazy? Now that he had personal wealth north of one billion, was incredibly accomplished in the field of venture capitalism, and at the top of his game, it seemed a little childish to have sent a note. And to think she’d once hoped it would end well when she kissed him.

Jacob shook his head and folded the paper. He tapped away at his phone. How had she forgotten how bewitching his hands were? Like the rest of him, they were big and manly. They seemed so...capable. Sadly, her bodily familiarity with his hands didn’t go beyond one of them on the small of her back and the other on her shoulder when he’d delivered the stinger that had stuck with her for years. I can’t, Anna. My friendship with Adam means too much.

It had taken buckets of self-analysis to get over him, and just being in the same room was bringing it all back—in a deluge, where there was no dodging a drop of water. With all of the serious business-related thoughts rolling in her head, her mind kept drifting to their past—every smile, laugh, and flirtatious look they’d ever shared still haunted her. Dammit. She’d been so sure she was beyond this.

Jacob tucked his phone inside his suit coat pocket and finished his drink.

The screen on Anna’s phone lit up. Her pulse throbbed in her throat. What would he say? That he wanted nothing to do with her or her family? That she was lucky he didn’t call her out in the crowded bar?

She swallowed hard and read the text.

Penthouse suite. 15 minutes.

Anna forgot how to breathe. The message was so like Jacob. Direct. To the point. Just intimidating enough to make her doubt herself even more. She wasn’t put off by powerful men. She worked alongside them every day, could hold her own in any tense business situation. But those men didn’t have the pull on her that Jacob had once had. Those men hadn’t once held her heart in their hands, and she sure hadn’t spent years pining for any of them, writing dozens of heartfelt letters that she would ultimately never send.

Jacob stood and bid a farewell to a man he’d been talking to. With the grace of a cat, he wound his way through the jam-packed bar, towering above nearly everyone at six-foot and several more inches, acknowledging the few who had the guts to greet the most formidable and successful technology venture capitalist quite possibly ever.

A shiver crawled along Anna’s spine as he came closer. He brushed past her, not saying a word, leaving behind his heady scent—sandalwood and citrus. Fifteen minutes. She had to pull herself together and prepare to be alone with the one man she would’ve once done anything for.

* * *

Anna Langford. I’ll be damned. Jacob pressed the button for the private elevator to his suite. He’d spent the last six years convinced that the entire Langford family despised him, a feeling he’d had no choice but to return. After the note from Anna, he didn’t know what to think, which was unsettling. He always knew what to think.

Did he want to meet with gorgeous Anna Langford, youngest of the three Langford siblings, the woman stuck with an untrustworthy jerk for an older brother? The prospect, although ill-advised, was intriguing. He and Anna had once been friends. On one memorable night they’d been a little more. But did he want to speak to Anna Langford, a member of the LangTel executive board? On that count, it depended on what she wanted to discuss.

His plan to engineer a takeover of LangTel wouldn’t simply backfire if Anna discovered it—he’d be sunk. The War Chest, a secret high-roller investment group led by Jacob, had watched the decline of LangTel stock after the death of Anna and Adam’s father, Roger. The company was vulnerable with Adam in charge—he didn’t have the confidence of the board of directors the way his dad had. LangTel was ripe for the picking.

The War Chest’s plan had been born over cards and too much bourbon one night in Madrid, at a retreat for key players. Jacob had put it out there—What about LangTel? Could a company that large be taken over? It would be a daunting challenge, requiring a massive money pool and meticulous planning, but this was precisely the kind of project the War Chest loved. Without risk came no reward. There was money to be made, and a lot of it, because a company that well established would eventually rebound. Carving out a slice of revenge against Adam by ousting him as CEO would merely be giving Adam exactly what he deserved.

Jacob rode the elevator upstairs. The game had changed the instant Anna walked into that bar. She was no longer a wide-eyed coed. She was a powerful businesswoman—confident, cool, in control. Other men in the bar had taken notice, too—she was formidable for her business pedigree, coming from one of the most successful entrepreneurial families in US history. Her beauty only upped the intimidation factor, with thick brown hair falling around her shoulders, a dancer’s grace and posture, and lips that suggested sweetness and hinted of a storm.

Anna’s lips had fallen on his once—a few scorching heartbeats still emblazoned in his memory. The way she pressed against him had resonated to his core. She’d been so eager to surrender her body, so ready to explore his. Turning her down, saying he’d destroy his brotherly friendship with Adam if things went further, had been the upstanding thing to do.

He had no way of knowing that Adam would betray him months later by ending their business partnership, making millions from the sale of the company they’d started together and publicly bashing Jacob’s contribution to the project. The words Adam had said could never be erased from Jacob’s memory. It’s your fault you never asked for a partnership agreement. And to think he’d trusted Adam...that had been his first mistake.

He keyed into his suite—quiet, sprawling luxury, echoing his private existence at home in New York. Outside of a maid or a cook or an assistant, there was never anyone waiting when he walked through the door at the end of the day, and that was how he preferred it. Most people were nothing but a disappointment—Exhibit A, Adam Langford.

A business proposition. What was Anna’s angle? It’d be brave of her if it involved peacemaking. The feud between himself and Adam only continued to get worse.

It seemed as if the more successful Jacob became, the more Adam said crude things about him at cocktail parties and in business magazines. Jacob Lin doesn’t have an entrepreneurial mind. He’s good with money and nothing else. Jacob had given into it, too. Adam Langford will coast on his family name for as long as the world lets him. It was impossible not to engage, but it had also occurred to Jacob after the last barbs were exchanged in the newspapers, that words were no way to go. Actions spoke louder. He’d no longer tell the world what he thought of Adam. He’d show them.

Jacob picked up the direct line to the twenty-four-hour concierge.

“Good evening, Mr. Lin. How may I assist you?”

“Yes. Can you please send up a bottle of wine?” He flipped through the room service menu. “The Montrachet, Domaine Marquis de Laguiche?” He rattled off the French with no problem. Years of shuttling between boarding schools in Europe and Asia had left him fluent in four languages—French, English, Japanese and Mandarin, the language his father had grown up speaking in Taiwan.

“Yes, Mr. Lin. We have the 2012 vintage for fifteen-hundred dollars. I trust that is acceptable?”

“Of course. Send it up right away.” Life is too short for cheap wine.

Actually, he and Anna had consumed more than their fair share of cheap wine during their marathon late-night talks at the Langford family home in Manhattan. That felt like a lifetime ago.

His friendship with Adam had meant the world then. They told each other everything, commiserated over growing up with powerful, yet emotionally reclusive, fathers. They bonded over career aspirations, came up with ideas effortlessly. Jacob had hit it off with Anna equally well, except that he’d only had a sliver of time with her—ten days during which they drank, played cards and joked, while attraction pinged back and forth between them. He’d thought about acting on it many times, but never did.

He’d been raised as a gentleman and no gentleman made a move on his best friend’s sister, however tempting she might be. Anna had been supremely tempting. It physically hurt to say “no” to her when she’d kissed him and it wasn’t only because she’d given him a mind-numbing erection. He’d sensed that night that he was turning down more than sex. It was difficult not to harbor regrets.

After room service delivered the wine, Jacob removed his suit coat and tie. He was essentially shedding his armor, but it would make things more informal. If the Langfords were aware that a takeover was in the mix and Adam had sent her to spy on him, this would make him seem less threatening. The War Chest investors had been careful, but some tracks were impossible to cover.

The suite doorbell rang. Jacob had given his personal assistant the night off, so he strode through the marble-floored foyer to answer it. When he opened the door, he couldn’t help himself—he had to drink in the vision of Anna. A stolen glimpse of her in the hotel bar had nothing on her up close. Her sweet smell, her chest rising and falling with each breath, sent reverberations through his body for which he was ill prepared.

“May I come in?” she asked. “Or did you answer just so you could slam the door in my face?” The look in her eyes said that she was only half kidding. He had to give her credit. It couldn’t have been easy to break the silence between himself and the Langfords.

“Only your brother deserves that treatment. Not you.” Jacob stepped aside. He’d forgotten about the sultry nature of her voice, the way it made parts of him rumble and quake.

“I won’t take up your time. I’m sure you’re busy.” She came to a halt in the foyer, folded her hands in front of her, playing the role of steely vixen all too well.

“Anna, it’s eight o’clock at night. Even I don’t schedule my day nonstop. The evening is yours. Whatever you want.” The more time he spent with her, the more sure he could be of her motives.

She straightened her fitted black suit jacket. The long lines of her trousers showed off her lithe frame. “You sure?”

“Please. Come in. Sit.”

Anna made her way into the living area and perched on the edge of the sofa. Palm trees fluttered in the wind outside. Miami moonlight filtered through the tall windows. “I came to talk about Sunny Side.”

Of the things Jacob thought Anna might come to discuss, he hadn’t considered this. “I’m impressed. I thought I’d managed to keep my investment role at Sunny Side quiet. Very quiet. Silent, in fact.” Exactly as he hoped he’d kept his LangTel investments. Was he losing his touch? Or was Anna that good?

“I read about them on a tech blog. It took some digging to figure out where their money was coming from, but I eventually decided it had to be you, although that was just a hunch. Thank you for confirming my suspicions.” She smiled and cocked an eyebrow, showing the same satisfied smirk her brother sometimes brandished.

The times Jacob had wanted to knock that look off Adam’s face was countless, but on Anna? Coming from her, delivered via her smoky brown eyes, it was almost too hot to bear. He was intrigued by this sly side of her, more self-assured than the coltish twenty-year-old he’d first met. “Well done. Would you like a glass of wine? I have a bottle on ice.”

Anna hesitated. “It’s probably best if we keep our conversation strictly business.”

“There’s no business between you and me without the personal creeping in. Your family and I are forever enmeshed.” She could turn this point on him later if she learned of the War Chest’s plans, not that he cared to change a thing about it. The ball was rolling.

Anna nodded in agreement. “How about this? Talk to me about Sunny Side and I’ll stay for a glass of wine.”

Was it really as innocent as that? His skeptical side wanted to think that it wasn’t, but it’d been a long day. At least he could enjoy a glass of good wine and derive deep satisfaction from admiring his nemesis’s little sister. “I’ll open it right now.”

“So, Sunny Side,” Anna said. “They could be an amazing acquisition for LangTel.”

Jacob opened the bottle at the wet bar, filled two glasses and brought them to the lacquered cocktail table. He sat near Anna and clinked his glass with hers. “Cheers.” Taking a long sip, he studied her lovely face, especially her mouth. He’d only had her lips on his for a few moments, but he knew the spark beneath her composed exterior. She could so easily be his undoing. He hadn’t anticipated this beguiling creature resurfacing in his life. Or that she might disrupt the riskiest investment venture of his career.

“Well?” she asked. “Sunny Side?”

“Yes. Sorry. It’s been a long day.” He shook his head, trying to make sense of the situation. “Is there a point in discussing it? Sunny Side might consider an offer from LangTel, but the problem is Adam. I don’t see him wanting to acquire a company I’m so deeply entrenched with and frankly, I’m never getting into bed with him either.” Getting into bed with Adam’s sister might be another matter. Loyalty was no longer standing in the way.

She nodded, intently focused. “I’ll take care of Adam. I just want to know if you can put me in the room with Sunny Side.”

“Just so you know, it’s about more than money. The founder is very leery of big business. It took months for me to earn his trust.”

Her eyes flashed. She was undaunted by obstacles. If anything, it brought out her enthusiasm. “Of course. The technology has limitless applications.”

“It will revolutionize the entire cell phone industry.” One thing dawned on him—the War Chest’s interest in LangTel was with the mind of turning the corporation into a bigger moneymaker once Adam was gone. Sunny Side would be a major player in the industry, so why not put the two together? It could have an enormous upside.

“So, can we make this happen?”

Jacob admired her persistence. Among other things. “Only if Adam stays out of it.”

“Tech acquisitions is my department. Think of it as doing business with me.”

“How long do you think you’ll stay in that job?” He’d been surprised she’d taken a job with LangTel at all. She always seemed to hate being in her brother’s shadow.

“Not forever, hopefully.”

“Setting your sights on bigger and better things?”

She smiled politely. “Yes.”

He was relieved that she saw herself eventually leaving LangTel. She’d still make a boatload of money from her personal stock if he was successful with a takeover, and her career wouldn’t be derailed. Adam was his target, not Anna. “Okay, well, if we’re going to talk about Sunny Side, Adam has to stay out of it. A negotiation requires compromise and he is incapable of that. He hates it when you disagree with him.”

“I’m familiar with that aspect of his personality.” She ran her finger around the edge of the wine glass, her eyes connecting with his and sending a splendid shock right through him. “I could never get Adam to tell me exactly what happened. Between the two of you.”

Although Jacob wasn’t certain what made Adam react the way he had, he suspected Roger Langford was at the root of it all. It started when Jacob spotted problems with Adam’s central idea for Chatterback, the social media website they were starting. They needed to rethink everything. Adam vehemently disagreed. He brooded, they argued for days on end. Jacob suggested Adam consult with his dad—maybe he could talk some sense into him. The next day, Jacob had been cut out entirely. “I find that surprising. I assumed he bad-mouthed me to anyone who would listen.”

“He did some of that, but he mostly just never wanted to talk about it.” Anna wound her arms around her waist.

Did he care to venture down this road tonight? Absolutely not. The details were too infuriating—money lost, countless hours, passion and hard work unfairly yanked away. Plus, he couldn’t tell Anna that he suspected her father had been the problem. She was likely still grieving him. “I don’t want to be accused of trying to taint your opinion of Adam. He is your brother, after all.”

“Okay, then at least tell me that you’ll put me in the room with Sunny Side.”

His mind went to work, calculating. There were myriad ways in which this could all go wrong. Of course, if it went right, that could be a real coup. “I’ll make it happen, but this is only because of you. I don’t want Adam interfering.”

“Believe me, I won’t let him get in the middle.” Anna took a sip of her wine. When she set down the glass, she laughed quietly and shook her head. “It was bad enough when he was the reason you didn’t want me to kiss you.”

Two

Adam’s fiancée, Melanie, pointed to the dog-eared pages of bridal magazines spread out on the dining table in Adam’s penthouse apartment. “Anna? What do you think? Black or eggplant?”

Bridesmaid’s dresses. Talking about the dress she’d have to wear for Adam and Melanie’s January wedding felt like a speed bump. Anna’d been trying to broach the subject of Jacob and Miami for nearly the entire week, but Adam kept putting her off.

“Do you have a preference?” Melanie asked.

Anna shook her head, setting down her dessert spoon. The chocolate mousse Melanie had served with dinner was delicious, and perfect, just like Adam and Melanie’s life—a well-matched couple giddily in love, wedding a few months down the road. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“Classic black A-line or strapless dark purple?”

Anna choked back a sigh. She was happy for Adam and Melanie, really she was, but their wedding had taken over Langford family life. It was the only thing their mother, Evelyn, wanted to talk about. Just to make things especially fun for Anna, her mother usually added a comment about how her first project after the wedding was helping Anna find the right guy. January couldn’t come—and go—soon enough.

She loved her brother dearly. Melanie had become a close friend. It was just that it was painful to watch them reach a milestone Anna was skeptical she’d ever reach. At twenty-eight, being hopelessly single in a city full of men who didn’t have eyes for women with lofty aspirations, there wasn’t much else to think. Most men were intimidated by her family and the job she’d already ascended to at LangTel. It wasn’t going to get any less daunting for them if and when she took over as CEO.

“The black, I guess,” Anna said. “But you should pick what you want. Don’t worry about me. It’s your big day, not mine.”

“No, I want you to be happy. I think we’ll go with the black.” Melanie smiled warmly.

Anna really did adore her future sister-in-law. These days, Melanie was the only thing that made being around Adam tolerable, which was so sad. Adam had once been her ally. Now it was as if she had a grizzly bear for a brother and a boss—she never knew what would set him off, and most days, it seemed as if everything did.

She’d assumed she and Adam would lean on each other after their father passed away, but instead, Adam had withdrawn. He’d holed up in Dad’s big corner office and become distant. The tougher things got, the more Adam shut her out. She’d been exercising patience. Everyone dealt with death differently. If only he’d trust her with more responsibility, she could lighten his workload and remind him that she was well equipped to take over.

Melanie took Adam’s hand across the sleek ebony table, her stunning Harry Winston engagement ring glinting. “I still can’t believe we’re getting married. I pinch myself every morning.”

“Just wait until we have kids,” Adam quipped. “Then things will really get surreal.”

“You’re already talking about children?” Anna tried to squelch the extreme surprise in her voice.

“We are,” Melanie answered. “Two of my sisters had trouble getting pregnant. If we’re going to have kids, I don’t want to risk waiting too long.”

Anna nodded. She’d worried about how long she would have to wait. Her friends from college were having kids, some their second or third. On an intellectual level, she knew she had time, but after her dad had died, emotion had taken over reasoning, and she panicked.

Feeling alone while watching Adam move forward with his life, Anna decided she wasn’t about to wait for a man to show up in hers. She’d looked into artificial insemination. It was a just-in-case sort of thing—a fact-finding mission. Hopefully, she’d find love and a partner and none of it would be necessary, but at that moment when she’d felt powerless, taking action was the only comfort she could get.

Unfortunately, the visit to the clinic brought a devastating problem to light—a tangle of scar tissue from her appendectomy, literally choking off her chances of conception unless she had surgery. If she didn’t fix the problem and she did become pregnant, carrying a baby to term was unlikely. With things crazy at work, Anna hadn’t done a thing about it, although she planned to. Some day.

“We aren’t going to have to try, Mel.” Adam leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head. “If I have my way, you’ll be pregnant by the end of the honeymoon.”

Melanie laughed quietly. “Did Adam tell you about Fiji?” she asked Anna. “Two weeks in a private villa on the beach with a chef and an on-call masseuse, all while the rest of New York is dealing with gray snow and cold. I can’t wait.”

Fiji. In January. Anna took a cleansing breath. She hated these feelings of envy. She wanted to squash them like a bug.

“We need to talk about that, because we’re going to be away for a full two weeks,” Adam said to Anna. “If you think that’s too long a stretch for you to be in charge at LangTel, you need to tell me now.”

Anna blew out an exasperated breath. “I can’t believe you think there’s a chance I can’t handle it.”

Adam fetched a bottle of beer from the fridge and returned to the table. “What about Australia? What if something like that happens when I’m gone? We’re still sorting out that mess.”

“First off, we’re not sorting out that mess, I am. And you asked me to make those changes. I was following orders.”

“If you’re going to be CEO, you have to think for yourself.” He took a sip of his beer and pointed at her with the neck of the bottle. “There will be no orders to follow.”

How she hated it when he talked down to her like that, as if she didn’t know as much about business, when she absolutely did. “And I will do that once you finally hand over the reins.” Anna tightened her hands into balls. She was so tired of her dynamic with Adam, constantly at war.

Melanie buried her nose in a bridal magazine. Surely this wasn’t a comfortable conversation to sit in on.

“When you’re ready and not a day sooner,” Adam barked. “You know we’re in a delicate position. The company stock is fluctuating like crazy. I keep hearing rumblings about somebody, somewhere, wanting to take over the company.”

She’d heard those same rumors, but had ignored them, hoping they were conjecture and nothing more. “Adam, change brings instability. I think you’re making excuses, when the truth is that you suddenly have zero confidence in me.”

“You don’t make it easy when you make mistakes. Half of the board members are old guard. They do not want to see a woman take over the company, no matter what they might say to your face. We have to find the right time.”

Anna felt as though she was listening to her father speak. Was there something about working out of that office that made a person completely unreasonable? “You mean I have to wait until you decide it’s the right time.”

“You have no idea the amount of pressure I’m under. People expect huge things from me and from LangTel. I can’t let what Dad started be anything less than amazing.”

Anna kept her thoughts to herself. Adam was struggling with their father’s death even more than she was. He might not realize it, but she was sure his iron grip on LangTel had more to do with holding on to the memory of their dad than anything else. Tears stung Anna’s eyes just thinking about her father, but she wouldn’t cry. Not now.

“I can do this. I thought you believed in me.”

“I do, but frankly, you haven’t dazzled me like I thought you would.”

“Then let me dazzle you. I have an idea for an acquisition after the conference in Miami. That’s what I’ve been trying to talk to you all week about.”

“I don’t want to spend our entire evening talking shop. Send me the details in an email and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“No. You keep blowing me off. Plus, I’m starting to think this isn’t a discussion for the office.”

“Why not?”

You might get mad enough to set off the sprinkler system. “Because it has to do with Jacob Lin. I’m interested in a company called Sunny Side, and he’s the majority investor.”

Adam’s jaw dropped and quickly froze in place. “I don’t care if Jacob Lin is selling the Empire State Building for a dollar. We’re not doing business with him. End of discussion.”

That last bit was so like her dad, and such a guy thing to do, attempting to do away with an uncomfortable subject with male posturing. It insulted every brain cell in her head, which meant it was time to forge ahead. She wasn’t about to wait for another time. It might never come. “The company makes micro solar panels for cell phones, phones that will never, ever need an electrical charge.”

“Sounds amazing,” Melanie chimed in from behind the shield of her magazine.

Adam shook his head, just as stubborn as Anna had imagined he’d be. “No, it doesn’t.”

“Yes, it does,” Anna said. “We’re talking about a revolution in our industry. Imagine the possibilities. Every person who ever wandered around an airport looking for an outlet will never see a reason to buy a phone other than ours.”

“Think of the safety aspects. Or the possibilities for remote places,” Melanie added. “The public relations upside could be huge.”

“Not to mention the financial upside,” Anna said.

Adam kneaded his forehead. “Are you two in cahoots or something? I don’t care if Jacob has invested in a cell phone that will make dinner and do your taxes. He and I tried to work together once and it was impossible. The man doesn’t know how to work with other people.”

Her conversation with Jacob was fresh in her mind, what he’d said about the end of his friendship with Adam. What if things had been different and they had remained friends? “Funny, but he says the same thing about you.”

Adam turned and narrowed his focus, his eyes launching daggers at Anna. “You spoke to him about this?”

“Actually, I met with him. I told him that LangTel is interested in Sunny Side.”

“I can’t believe you would do that.”

“Come on, Adam.” Anna leaned forward, hoping to plead with her eyes. “We would be passing up a huge opportunity. Just take a minute and look past your history with Jacob for the good of LangTel. You’ll see that I’m right.”

Adam stood up from the table. “I can’t listen to this anymore. I’m going to answer emails and take a shower.” He leaned down and kissed the top of Melanie’s head. “Good night.”

“That’s it?” Anna asked, bolting out of her seat, her chair scraping loudly on the hardwood floors. “The almighty Adam passes down his decree and I’m supposed to live with it, even when my idea could make billions for the company he won’t hand over because he’s so concerned with its success?”

“Look, I call the shots. I’m CEO.”

Anna felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. “You’ve reminded me of that every day since you took over.”

“Good. Because I don’t want to talk about this ever again. And I don’t want you to speak to Jacob Lin ever again, either.” He started down the hall, but turned and doubled back, raising a finger in the air as if he’d just had the greatest idea. “In fact, I forbid it.”

“Excuse me?” She remained frozen, beyond stunned. “You forbid it?”

“Yes, Anna. I forbid it. You are my employee and I am forbidding you to talk to him. He’s dangerous and I don’t trust him. At all.”

Three

Jacob ended his first conversation with Adam Langford in six years with a growl of disgust, dropping his cell phone onto the weight bench in his home gym. Where exactly did Adam get off calling him? And issuing orders? Stay away from his sister? Keep your little cell phone company to yourself? Jacob had a good mind to get in his car, storm through the lobby of LangTel up to Adam’s office and finally have it out, once and for all. Lock the door. Two guys. Fists. Go time.

Jacob leaped up onto the treadmill, upping his pre-set speed of six miles per hour to seven. Rain streaked the windows. Morning sunlight fought to break through gray September clouds looming over the Manhattan skyline. His long legs carried him across the conveyor belt, his breaths coming quicker, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t hard. It wasn’t painful. He upped his speed again. He craved every bit of release he could get—no sex in two months, a powder keg of a job and an infuriating phone conversation with his biggest adversary made him feel as if he might explode.

It was more than what Adam had said, it was the way he’d said it, so smug and assuming. Adam wasn’t all-powerful. He never had been, although he loved to act as though he was. Adam did not control him. The suggestion, even the slightest hint that he did, made his blood boil. He’d show Adam. He’d do whatever the hell he wanted. He would get as close to Anna as humanly possible, in any way she wanted to be close to him. If she wanted to do business, they would. If she wanted a replay of that kiss, they’d do that, too.

Jacob quickly finished five miles, every stride only steeling his conviction that Adam needed to be humbled, big time. He’d felt that way before Anna had come into the picture, and although she had no idea, she’d set off a chain of events that left him fixated on his goal. Adam needed to know what it felt like when someone destroyed everything you’d worked so hard for.

That was merely the business side. There were other unpaid debts. When Adam had betrayed him, he’d thrown away their friendship as if it meant nothing. That left a familiar void—Jacob found himself without a close friend, exactly as he’d lived out much of his childhood and adolescence, shuttled from one private school in Europe to another, never having enough time to fit in.

He’d been a straight-A student, but hardly had to try at all—that annoyed the hell out of the smart kids. He came from unspeakable wealth, but it was new money. He’d had to learn the hard way that there was a difference. He didn’t have a notable lineage behind his family name. His father was immensely powerful, but that was in the Asian banking world, not the entrenched circles of old-world high society in England and France. Jacob was left in a no-man’s-land, with plenty of money for the highest tuitions, the grades to get into the best schools and nothing to focus on but studies that didn’t challenge him in the slightest.

The real shame was that his friendship with Anna became collateral damage when things went south with Adam. Their immediate rapport had shown so much promise. He felt truly at ease with her. He could talk to her about anything, especially his upbringing, something he did not share easily. She always listened. If she hadn’t had the same experiences, she still empathized, and she found a bright spot in everything.

The night she’d kissed him, he’d been equal parts shocked and thrilled. He’d been pushing aside thoughts of his lips on hers from the moment he met her. She was off-limits, his friendship with Adam too precious. So he’d had to tell her “no.” He’d been sure his bond with Adam would be stronger because of it. But that had been a mistake. Every mistake he’d made because of Adam was an open wound, refusing to heal.

What if he and Anna brought things full circle? For just one night? They could start where they left off with that kiss six years ago, this time without Adam in the way. It would be more than physical gratification. A tryst with Anna would be another instance in which Jacob showed Adam just how little control he had.

Jacob muted the bank of televisions airing global financial news in front of him. He sat back down on the weight bench, picked up his phone and called the founder of Sunny Side. He was open to meeting with Anna, but could they do it upstate? Mark and Jacob had homes thirty minutes from each other. Perfect. Out from under the meddlesome reach of Adam.

He ended the call and scrolled through the contacts until he found Anna. Rational thought and urges warred inside his head. Could he cross that line? He would never hurt her. Business or pleasure—Sunny Side or sex, he’d follow her lead, but they could get nowhere until he set them on the right path.

“Jacob. Hello,” she quickly answered, hushing her voice.

Her softly spoken words were much like early-morning pillow talk, bringing a pleasant sensation, a rush of warmth. Perhaps it was the knowledge that his actions would enrage Adam. “Anna. How are you today?”

“Good. You?”

She had to be covering. Adam must’ve been hard on her when she’d brought up the notion of doing business with Jacob. Too bad for Adam—this call was about Anna and Jacob putting together a deal. No more letting Adam get in the way. “I’m good. I wanted to talk to you about Sunny Side. I spoke to Mark, the founder, and he’s amenable to the three of us meeting this weekend.”

“Really? That would be fabulous.”

Jacob was surprised by Anna’s lack of hesitation. She’d spoken to Adam about this—Adam had said as much, and yet she seemed undaunted, unwilling to conform to Adam’s wishes. A woman after his own heart. “We’ll see how things go. If you two talk and it’s not a good match, that’s the end of that. But I can’t imagine you not hitting it off with Mark. I doubt he’ll have a defense for the Anna Langford charm.”

That last part was the truth, not necessarily meant as flirtation, although he knew very well it came out that way.

“I could always wave a fat stack of cash in his face,” she quipped.

“Coming from you, I’d say that sounds incredibly sexy.” Visions of Anna seductively thumbing through a bundle of hundreds materialized. That would be sexy. Insanely sexy.

“I’ll be sure to run by the bank.”

A protracted silence played out over the line. It was partly his fault. He’d really tripped himself up with “sexy.” He cleared his throat. “So you’re up for the meeting?”

“Absolutely.”

How he loved her decisiveness, her fire. It made him want to kick himself for ever saying “no” to her. “We’re meeting at my place in Upstate New York if you can make that work. Mark bought a house about a half hour from mine. I don’t know about you, but I could really use the getaway.”

“Getaway? You and me?”

“Just for a night. It’s too far to go for just a few hours. Or at least that’s what I say to force myself to take a break from work.”

“Oh. I see.”

Why was going away with him the one point of hesitation? Was she thinking he was making a pass? He didn’t want her to think so. “It’ll be like old times. If you’re lucky, I might even beat your butt at cards.”

“We have to have this meeting and talk hard numbers. That’s really important.”

He blew out a breath. Maybe it was for the best that she was determined to focus on business. That would make it more difficult for his mind to stray to other thoughts of Anna. It would be trial enough to be alone in the same house. “Of course. Everything you need.”

She hummed on the other line, as if mulling over her decision. “Yes. I’ll be there. Should I hire a car or is there a flight I can catch?”

“We can ride up together. Text me your address and I’ll pick you up early tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, okay. Great. Is there anything special I need to bring?”

“Maybe your bikini?” The instant it came out of his mouth, he realized it sounded like a bad pick-up line.

“Not really my go-to for a meeting.”

Find a save. Find a save. “And there’s nothing like a soak in the hot tub after a tough negotiation.”

* * *

A getaway. With Jacob. Anna pressed the button to take the elevator down to the lobby of her building. She sucked in a deep breath. Her skin noticeably prickled when she thought about what she was doing and with whom she would be doing it. This was about as wrong as wrong could be—going away to discuss a business venture that was supposed to be a dead issue. Going away with the man her brother despised, the man she’d been warned to stay away from.

But Anna spent every day doing what everyone expected of her and where had that gotten her? Frustrated and running in circles. There was no reward in playing it safe. Of that, she was absolutely sure.

Could she have devised a more tempting plan to make Adam regret ever selling her short? Not likely. So, she’d be spending it in close proximity to the man she had a certifiable weakness for, a man who’d been sure to remind her to pack a bikini. She was strong, or so she hoped.

After she and Jacob had gotten off the phone the day before, the bathing suit talk had sent her rushing to the salon to get everything imaginable waxed as well as getting her nails done. Sure, it was girlish and vain, but if she was going to let Jacob see her climbing into his hot tub, he was at least going to second-guess the wisdom of ever turning her down.

Anna stepped off the elevator. As she made her way to the glass doors, a sleek, black SUV pulled up to the curb. She wasn’t sure exactly what make it was, only that several guys eyed it as they walked by, as if it was a supermodel bending over in a short skirt. Jacob rounded the front of the vehicle in a black sweater, jeans and dark sunglasses. Had he managed to get hotter since she’d seen him in Miami? He was as tempting as ever, square-shouldered, as if he was bulletproof. Damn.

She ducked into the revolving door with her overnight bag just as Jacob caught sight of her. He came to a halt on the sidewalk, grinning. His magnetism was so effortless. It was in his DNA. He ran his hand through his shiny, black hair and pushed his sunglasses up on his nose. That seemingly harmless sequence of motions left her dizzy. Hopefully she’d get reacclimated to Jacob quickly, desensitized to the ways he could make the most benign action enticing. She had more than a few recollections of staring at his hands while he shuffled playing cards.

“Ready?” His impossibly deep voice stood out amidst the sounds of the city.

“Yes,” she answered with a squeak.

He reached for her bag, grasping the handle. Their fingers brushed and her body read it as an invitation, even though her brain insisted it was nothing. Meaningless. Still, if he touched any more of her than that, she was a goner. He opened the passenger door. Something about him standing there, waiting for her to climb in, gave this the distinct feel of a date, even when she was sure it was only because Jacob was a perfect gentleman.

“I’m a little surprised you’re driving. I figured you and your driver would pick me up,” she said after he’d tossed her bag into the backseat and gotten in on the driver’s side.

Jacob shook his head and started the car. The engine roared, quickly calming to a low and even hum. “I figured this made for more quality time to catch up. No prying eyes.”

Anna swallowed hard as Jacob expertly zipped into the confusion of cars whizzing by. “Oh. Sure.”

“I trust my driver, but he’s only been with me a few months and you never know. I’ve been burned before by people who talk behind my back. This way, it’s one less person who knows what we’re doing.”

She nodded. What we’re doing. What in the heck were they doing? Tempting fate? Undoubtedly. If Adam found out about this, especially before she had a chance to be out in front of it, he wouldn’t merely go ballistic. He would explode into millions of pieces, only after he was certain she and Jacob were in the bull’s-eye of the blast zone. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“Look, the last thing I want is for you to end up in the doghouse with your brother. We have legitimate reasons to explore this business venture, but we need to put some real numbers together before you can entertain it seriously. If this meeting doesn’t go well, no harm, no foul. Adam never needs to know it happened.”

“Sounds reasonable to me.” The covert nature of their trip was appealing for practical reasons, but misbehaving was its own temptation. She was always the good girl, always did what was expected of her. For once she could deviate from plan, even if her confidence about it wavered. She didn’t like deceiving anyone, especially not her family.

That didn’t change the fact that she had to get Adam’s attention and shake him out of the mindset that she wasn’t ready to take over as CEO. Jacob had become her very unlikely ticket to doing that. She had to wonder if money was Jacob’s only motivation, or if he thought this deal might show Adam that he’d made a mistake by ending their working relationship. He certainly seemed focused on the business aspect. Telling her to bring her bathing suit was probably a slip or Jacob being a good host. It was hard to imagine it was anything else.

There was a big part of her, however, that wished there was something else. She never did well with the idea of possibilities left unexplored. The night she kissed Jacob, she’d already spent many nights imagining what came next, of what it would be like to have his hands all over her, to share the same bed with him. When he’d cut it short, she couldn’t help but feel as though she’d been robbed of something. That was difficult to let go.

She glanced over at Jacob as he fiddled with the satellite radio while navigating the snarl of traffic leaving the city. His profile was endlessly enthralling. She could’ve sat there and studied his strong, dark brows or his uncannily straight nose for hours. That would only lead to the examination of his perfect lips, the way his angular jaw was accentuated by his well-groomed scruff. It would be so nice to trail her finger along the line from his ear to his chin, kiss him again and see if he wanted to explore their unfinished business.

But what if he’d only used Adam as an excuse, a means of covering up the fact that he hadn’t wanted to kiss her at all? If she tried anything a second time, he might be honest with her. That would be brutal.

He turned and narrowed his focus on her for an instant, making her heart leap into her throat. “Everything okay?”

She nodded, swallowing back a sigh. “Oh, sure. I was just wondering how long the drive is.”

He looked back over his shoulder and sped up, changing lanes like a man who wasn’t about to let anyone get in his way. The scent of his cologne wafted to her nose, making her lose her bearings. “Five hours. Four and a half if I can get out of traffic.” He reached across and patted her on the leg, the width of his palm and fingers spanning her thigh. “Sit back and enjoy the ride.”

She stared down at her lap, the place where he’d left an invisible scorching-hot handprint. Five hours? Alone in a car with Jacob? She’d be on fire by the time they got there.

Four

In the years since he’d graduated from Harvard Business School, the only time Jacob had mixed business and pleasure was right now—taking Anna away for the weekend. Time alone in the car with her had quickly illustrated that being with her made things muddy, messy. Nothing was clear-cut and that made him nervous. Considering the game he was playing with LangTel stock, getting close to Anna was dangerous. It wasn’t just playing with fire. It was tantamount to walking a tightrope over an active volcano.

But the fire was so tempting—her sweet smell, the way she pulled out her ponytail and redid it when she was thinking about something. He’d struggled to keep his eyes on the road. The deep blue turtleneck she wore was maddening. His brain wouldn’t stop fixating on trying to remember the exact arrangement of freckles on her chest. And then there were the jeans. Sure, he’d held the car door to be a gentleman, but he’d committed every curve to memory, frame by frame, as she’d climbed inside his car.

Finally at their destination, he turned from the main road and stopped between the pair of towering stone pillars flanking the entrance to his estate. Cool autumn air rushed in when he rolled down the window to punch in the security code. Silently, the wrought iron gate rolled aside, granting entry into his retreat, a world that intentionally bore no resemblance to the one they’d left behind in Manhattan. The fall leaves blazed with a riot of brilliant orange and rust and gold. The trees rustled with a stiff breeze, leaves breaking free from their branches, some landing on the hood and windshield, the rest drifting until they came to rest on the white crushed-stone driveway.

The massive house stood sentry at the head of a circular parking area.

“Wow,” she muttered, leaning to the side and peering out her window as he parked the car. “It’s so gorgeous, Jacob. And huge.”

Surely Anna had been to impressive estates, but she seemed quite taken with what he had to offer her for the weekend—pristine grounds, crisp, white clapboards wrapping the spires at each corner of the house, a wide sweep of stone stairs leading to the front door, flanked by hand-leaded windows. His pride swelled. He couldn’t help it. He’d impressed her and he was glad that he had.

“The house was built in the twenties. I had it completely remodeled when I bought it three years ago.” As much as he loved his job, it was a pressure cooker, and being in Manhattan only exacerbated it. “I figured it was a good investment and I wanted a getaway that would always be here. Something I could depend on. Something comfortable.”

Jacob snatched up the keys in his hand and climbed out of the car. He didn’t make it around in time to open Anna’s door for her, but he was able to grab her overnight bag before she had the chance to do so. He wanted to at least do some things for her. In fact, he’d purposely called the house’s caretaker and asked him to give them a wide berth this weekend. There would already be his cook and housekeeper around.

“Seems like a lot of space for one person,” Anna said, as they made their way to the front door. “How often do your parents come to visit?”

Family was such an integral part of Anna’s life. It was probably impossible for her to fathom an existence that didn’t revolve around it. “You’d be surprised.” He opened the door and ushered her inside, placing their bags on a bench in the spacious foyer.

“A lot, then?”

He shook his head. “No. Not much at all. Especially not my dad. My mom will come for a weekend once a year, but she’s antsy the whole time she’s here. I think she probably learned that from my dad.” As hard as Jacob liked to work, he had seen his dad take it too far. He made a point of relaxing when he came up here, but that almost exclusively involved getting his hands dirty. Very dirty. He’d have to show Anna his collection after he’d shown her the house.

Anna turned and frowned. “Don’t you get lonely up here?”

Jacob was so accustomed to being alone that it didn’t faze him at all, but he was smart enough to know that most people didn’t live that way. Especially not a Langford. “I won’t be lonely this weekend. That’s all that matters right now.” He chided himself the instant the words were out of his mouth. Why couldn’t he answer, “no”? Why was flirtation and leading answers his inclination? He wasn’t the guy who had trouble turning off this aspect of his personality. He was usually far more in control.

Anna flushed with the most gorgeous shade of pink. “That’s a great way of thinking.”

The urge to cup the side of her face and sweep his thumb across the swell of her cheek bubbled up inside him. Stuffing his hands in his pockets was the only way to stop himself. He wasn’t about to cross that line. He needed to get a grip and wrap his head around everything he was fighting in his mind. When he’d been irate with Adam, it was easy to imagine getting back at him by seducing his sister. But then he’d picked her up at her apartment and he was quickly reminded of two things—Adam’s sister was a woman he cared about, and a path that led to intimacy was not to be taken lightly. A smart man would insist that the risk was not worth the reward, even if the reward did look stunning in her blue sweater.

As in all business, detachment was the most proven tack. For the moment, it meant focusing on his head and ignoring his body. There was a very clear answer to the question of what his body wanted—Anna. He couldn’t even fathom what might happen if he made a move. Would she cast away her brown eyes in shyness or would she have the courage to meet his gaze and tell him what she wanted? If he could have anything right then and there, he would’ve loved to know what she was thinking. Why was she here? What was driving her? Was it really as simple as wanting to broker a big deal? Or was there something else?

He cleared his throat. “Allow me to give you the tour.”

Anna nodded and he led the way.

* * *

Anna had grown up amidst wealth and splendor, but Jacob’s house was truly remarkable—beautifully refinished wood floors, a refined mix of modern furnishings and antiques, every surface impeccable and of the finest quality. Even her mother would’ve been a bit envious, and Evelyn Langford devoted an awful lot of time and resources to feathering her nest.

They returned to the front door, and Anna assumed they were going to go upstairs to see the bedrooms. Instead, Jacob handed over her coat. “I have something I want to show you in the garage.”

The garage? He was aware she knew what a lawn mower looked like, wasn’t he? “Okay. Sure.”

They walked along a wide flagstone walkway, past the swimming pool and tennis courts. Beyond was an enormous outbuilding. Practically a warehouse, with a keypad entry and a security system Jacob had to disarm once they were inside. He flipped a succession of switches and the lights flickered on, one by one, across the massive room. Anna gasped.

It was an homage to motorized travel—seven or eight very expensive-looking cars, all black, and at least two dozen motorcycles. The entire room was spotless— polished concrete floors, not a speck of dust or dirt anywhere. Chrome gleamed. The aroma of motor oil and tooled leather swirled around her, a smell she’d never anticipated could be so appealing. She’d had men show off collections before—art, autographed baseballs. One guy owned what she’d thought was a dizzying array of antique chess sets. Talk about dizzying—Jacob’s display of testosterone-fueled fascination was enough to make her head swim.

“Jacob, wow. I can’t even...” Anna paced ahead slowly, Jacob right behind her. She was mesmerized, but afraid to touch the wrong thing. “They’re incredible.”

They stood before a bike with a worn but polished brown leather seat. “This is my hobby. Everything is vintage. Nothing built after 1958. Some of them I’ve bought from other collectors, but quite a few were falling apart when I got them. They were a lot of work, but I love it.”

She folded her hands. Jacob loomed behind her, so close. She could feel the measured rhythm of his breaths even when she couldn’t see him. “You do the actual repairs?”

“Is that hard to believe?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just surprised you know how to do it, that’s all.”

He let out a breathy laugh. “At first, it was the challenge of teaching myself how to do it. I was very motivated to learn. Now it’s simply that I don’t trust anyone with these. They’re prized possessions and that means I keep them all to myself.”

“Well, they’re just incredible. Truly beautiful. I’m very impressed.”

He stepped over to a bike in the center of the front row, swung his long leg over the seat and straddled it. “This one is my favorite. A Vincent Black Shadow. Very collectible.” The motorcycle popped back off its kickstand, bounced in place a few times under his weight. His hands—good God, his hands—gripped the handles in a way that said he didn’t merely know how to care for the machinery. He knew how to ride.

“Take me out,” she blurted.

He smirked, his eyes crinkling at the corner. “It’s cold out there. You’ll freeze.”

“I’ll live.”

“Have you even been on a motorcycle?” His voice rumbled, low and gravelly.

She had most certainly not been on a motorcycle. She’d lived her entire life in Manhattan. Riding on a motorcycle was the sort of thing her parents never, ever would have allowed her to do. As an adult, she’d never had the chance. Nor had she put much thought into how all-out sexy the idea might be until confronted with it.

“No. I haven’t. And that’s why I want you to take me out.” She shook her head slowly, their eyes connecting. His dark stare was like a tractor beam—he could have drawn her across the room with a single thought, not needing to utter a word or even curl a finger. He made her so damn nervous when he looked at her like that, as if he knew how easily he could mold her every vulnerability into something of his own. She didn’t have a lot of weaknesses, but there were a few. Did he know that he was one? That look on his face made her think that he did.

“You know what they say about this particular motorcycle?” he asked.

“No clue.”

“That if you ride on it fast, for long enough, you’re bound to die.”

Anna gnawed on her lower lip. What was it about being with Jacob, the man she wasn’t supposed to be with, that emboldened her? Because there was no denying that it did. He could’ve been about to push her over the edge of a cliff and she would’ve jumped off herself and figured out what to do on the way down. “I’m not scared.”

“You realize that if any part of you gets hurt, your brother will have my head.”

Anna wasn’t much for pain, but she wouldn’t mind Jacob wearing her out a little. Or a lot. “So now you’re going to use Adam as your excuse?”

He sat back, tall and straight, brushing the side of the bike’s body with his hand. He granted her the smallest fraction of a smile and it made her knees buckle. “When you put it that way, I don’t think I have a choice.” He pushed the kickstand back into place and climbed off the bike, heading for a tall cabinet in the corner. “Let’s find you a helmet and a jacket.”

Her mind was at war with itself. What are you doing? You came up here for a meeting. Shut up shut up shut up. Forget work. Forget the meeting. Who turns down a motorcycle ride with an insanely hot guy?

“We just need to be back in time for our meeting,” she said, as if it would make this sensible if she brought up work.

“That’s two hours from now. Plenty of time.”

“Okay.” Anna trailed over to him, wishing she’d had something smart or sexy or at least sane to say. She felt so overmatched, much as she had when Jacob had come to stay with her family that Christmas. As if he was guiding her, pulling her in, making her his. Except that it had never materialized that time. Was it all in her head? Would it actually happen now? If not, it would be fantastic to know now so she could preserve her dignity by dodging another brush-off.

He turned, holding out a black leather jacket. “Allow me.”

She made a one-eighty, her back to him, steeling herself to his touch, sliding her arms into the heavy garment, which weighed down her shoulders.

He patted her back gently. “A little big, but it’ll work.”

The sleeves were stiff, and she had to work at bending her arms to zip up the jacket. Boxy and clumsy for her frame, it made her feel like a child in a winter coat a size too big. She faced him and her brain sputtered, fixated on the image of him as he put on his own jacket. Dammit. It fit like he’d been born in it, adding a dangerous veneer to his admirable physique. Where did he get that thing? The Absurdly Tall and Broad-Shouldered Men’s Warehouse?

He grabbed a shiny silver helmet, but instead of handing it to her, he curled his hand around her head and reached for her ponytail, gently tugging on it as he pulled out the hair tie. She was so shocked, it was as if he’d pulled her breath out of her lungs at the same time. Her tresses collapsed around her shoulders. He was close enough to kiss. His mouth was right there—lips as tempting as could be, the moment resembling the one that preceded her ill-fated attempt at seduction. They’d been standing in nearly the same posture and stance. Why couldn’t he have taken her hair in his hands that night? Why couldn’t he have decided that she was more important than Adam?

“One of my old girlfriends always complained that it hurt to wear a ponytail that high with a helmet.”

Talk about ruining the moment. He would have to bring up other women, wouldn’t he? Of course he’d gone on with his life, including his romantic one, after they parted ways years ago. He was smart. He hadn’t wasted untold amounts of time wishing for someone he couldn’t have.

She nodded. “I never would’ve thought to take down my hair.”

He zipped up his motorcycle jacket, which was the sexiest meeting of metal teeth in the history of apparel fasteners. “If you want to know the truth, it’s just that I find that moment when a woman shakes out her hair after riding on the back of my bike particularly sexy.”

Was that his way of throwing down the gauntlet? Issuing a dare? Because she sure as heck could whip around her hair. She might not be the purely confident seductress, but that much she could handle. The raw anticipation of the ride ahead returned to her veins, pumping blood from head to toe.

“Ready?” he asked, climbing onto the Black Shadow.

He pressed a button on a key fob and one of the wide garage bay doors began to open. The crisp air rolled inside, but she appreciated the cooling effect on her ragged nerves. Jacob put on his helmet, then his sunglasses. Lastly, he pulled on a pair of black leather gloves.

“Yep,” she answered, sidling up to the bike. She realized then that it wasn’t the idea of the ride making her nervous. It was the idea of touching him. Then again, this gave her the perfect excuse, and if this was as close as they got all weekend, she’d find a way to live with it and later weave it into a super hot fantasy. She pulled on her helmet, adjusted the chin strap, and grasped his shoulders as she straddled the bike behind him.

He started the engine. The bike rumbled beneath them. “Hold on tight,” he yelled back to her.

She wrapped her hands around his waist tentatively. She didn’t want to be so hopelessly obvious. Better to wait until their speed warranted a stronger grip. The next thing she knew, they were moving, albeit slowly, as he turned to close the garage door. Then he sped up, rounding the outbuildings, chugging down the gravel driveway to the road, opening the gate ahead of them with another click of the fob.

He came to a dead stop at the road, balancing them with his foot on the blacktop as the gate closed behind them.

“You can go a little faster, you know,” she yelled.

“That was gravel,” he called back. “You want fast?”

Anna gulped. “Yes.”

“I’ll show you fast.”

He revved the gas, still keeping them in place. The power of the engine had her body trembling. The bike lurched and they hurtled ahead like a rocket. They flew down the narrow state road, picking up speed, much faster than they’d gone in his car. Maybe it only seemed that way because she no longer had the protection of a steel cage around her. The momentum of the bike pulled her away from him, and she tightened her grip around his waist, clamped her thighs to his hips. Her shoulders tensed, but at the same time, she felt freed. It was the oddest sensation. Laughter and elation bubbled out of her. The wind whipped at her jeans, but the jacket kept her warm. As did Jacob. Very warm.

The engine popped and roared whenever he changed gears. Masterfully, he handled the bike, leading them through a curve. She grabbed him even tighter as he leaned them into the turn, defying the laws of gravity. The way his shoulders shifted, maneuvering the bike through the treacherous bend, was unspeakably hot. She loved seeing him so in control. One wrong move and they’d both be gone. In that moment, she couldn’t imagine wrong. He was infallible. Invincible.

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