A guilty secret...

...gives way to guilty pleasures!

Reformed con man Xander King and his stepsister, Poppy, both sense the electric chemistry between them. So when they start working together, it’s not long before meetings in the boardroom become steamy trysts in the bedroom! But Xander’s hiding a secret about the death of Poppy’s father and the guilt is tearing him apart. Will Xander’s dark past ruin it all, or is their red-hot passion fierce enough to redeem this King?

JACKIE ASHENDEN writes dark, emotional stories with alpha heroes who’ve just gotten the world to their liking only to have it blown wide apart by their kick-ass heroines. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband, the inimitable Dr. Jax, two kids and two rats. When she’s not torturing alpha males and their gutsy heroines she can be found drinking chocolate martinis, reading anything she can lay her hands on, wasting time on social media or being forced to go mountain biking with her husband. To keep up-to-date with Jackie’s new releases and other news, sign up to her newsletter at jackieashenden.com.

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Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

King’s Rule

Jackie Ashenden

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08677-6

KING’S RULE

© 2019 Jackie Ashenden

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

EPILOGUE

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE
Xander

I HATED POPPY VALENTINE.

First there was her name. I had no idea what her mother, Lily, had been thinking at the time. Poppy as a first name was fine. Valentine as a surname, also fine. But together? Showy. A name for a burlesque dancer not an actual person.

Just my opinion naturally, but it made me cringe every time I heard it.

Second, she was my stepsister. Right from the very first day Dad had introduced her to me and my two brothers, Poppy had been nothing but rude. She’d been ten to my fifteen and snarky as hell even then. I’d been unfortunate in that Dad had chosen me to look after her, and she made no bones about how unimpressed she was with me in particular and the King family in general.

Again, fine. I was unimpressed with her and her attitude.

Third, all that snark and sarcasm was wrapped up in the most phenomenally beautiful package. She had a cloud of curly black hair that looked as soft to the touch as the barbs she spat out were sharp; skin that looked in some lights like deep gold, in others like polished bronze; eyes the colour of molten copper coins and killer curves designed specifically to drive a man to distraction. Not that I’d noticed. At all.

Fourth, I needed a personal assistant and even though she was the very last person in the world I wanted to hire, it was starting to look like I had no choice in the matter, since no temping agency in Sydney wanted to work with a King.

My father, Augustus King, had headed the biggest crime empire in the city before his arrest five years ago, and it had taken years for my brothers and me to drag our name out of the mud.

Even the three of us running a totally legit property development company hadn’t absolved us in the eyes of the people of Sydney. Even my brother Leon marrying Vita Hamilton, the daughter of one of their favourite philanthropists, hadn’t redeemed us.

No, apparently we still had a way to go.

I was okay with that. We’d been getting rid of the remains of our father’s empire, sniffing out and sweeping away the last of his lies, and even though we weren’t there quite yet, we would be.

Not being able to get and retain good staff was simply a minor irritation.

Of course, the fact that no one wanted to work for me might also have had a little something to do with my reputation as a cold, ruthless bastard, but that was beside the point.

I didn’t want to hire Poppy, full fucking stop. But I needed someone. Someone I could trust wasn’t in league with our enemies—and there were plenty of those still around. Someone who wasn’t still hoping for my father’s return and wanting to curry favour.

Poppy might not be my first choice for a PA—or even my last, to be fair. But one thing I was sure of was that she had nothing to do with Augustus King’s empire.

I didn’t trust her, but she was someone I didn’t trust the least.

Not that I had any choice in the matter, considering the distinct lack of other candidates.

Now Poppy was sitting at the head of the boardroom table in the King Enterprises Sydney offices—in my oldest brother Ajax’s seat, no less—with her damn feet kicked up on the top of it, leaning back, hands behind her head. Humming. Like she was bored.

Christ, the woman had no fucking respect.

To make matters worse, the skinny jeans she wore outlined the luscious shape of her long legs and she had on a little black T-shirt with some punk band logo emblazoned across it, and the way she was sitting made the fabric pull tight across her full breasts...

Fifth on my list of things I hated about her was the fact that I wanted to fuck her. And it didn’t matter what she said or what she did, how unimpressed, snarky, sarcastic and downright rude she was, I still wanted to fuck her. Badly.

Which didn’t only make me angry, it actively enraged me. I wasn’t a man who let either emotion or my libido get in the way of good sense and logic, but Poppy Valentine seemed to have a direct line to both and tweaked them at every opportunity.

Like now, for example.

I stared at her from my place down the other end of the table, ignoring how much I wanted to take hold of one insolent booted foot and haul her down over the polished wood and into my lap, to teach her the consequences of such disrespect.

But, naturally, I didn’t.

She was my stepsister and one of the last orders my father had given me before his arrest was that I was to take care of her and her mother. That neither of them wanted to be taken care of was another thing that constantly irritated me.

I was a man of my word and I fulfilled my promises. Even to the man who’d lied to me and everyone else constantly throughout my childhood. So I would take care of her, and that meant not touching her.

Not that I would anyway. I preferred women who didn’t go out of their way to infuriate me.

‘You don’t appear to be taking my offer very seriously,’ I said coolly, pleased that my control on my temper was apparently sound.

She ignored me, continuing to stare up at the ceiling, tapping one foot in time to some unheard music.

The woman appeared to have a death wish.

And then I saw, in the cloud of her dark hair, a flash of white.

Jesus. She was wearing earbuds.

She’d come to this meeting—a meeting she’d agreed to, or so my stepmother had assured me—and had deliberately chosen not to listen to anything I said.

My temper pulled at the leash I kept on it, but I ignored it.

Anger was never productive. In fact, passion in general only led to lies and misunderstandings and other...difficulties. My father was a case in point, having provided a lesson I could never afford to ignore.

Calmly I pushed back my chair and rose, coming around the table to where Poppy was sitting. She didn’t look at me, clearly not noticing what I was doing.

Good.

I stepped behind her chair then leaned over her at the same time as I lifted my hands to grip the wires of her earbuds. Then I yanked them out of her ears.

She blinked, beautiful copper eyes looking straight up into mine.

And for a second I thought I caught a glimpse of something that wasn’t disdain or contempt or anger in them. Something I couldn’t put my finger on.

But then she blinked and whatever it was had gone.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ I kept my tone ice-cold.

‘Listening to music—what does it look like?’ She didn’t seem bothered that I’d caught her not paying attention. Which was almost as infuriating as the way the smoky quality of her voice got under my skin.

‘You’re supposed to be listening to what I have to say. That was the whole point of this meeting.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘When you have something interesting to say then I’ll listen. So far, all I hear is dull.’

The way I was leaning over her had brought us very close and I could smell her scent, something sweet, like jasmine. An odd choice for a woman so sharp and spiky.

I also found it intoxicating. Another thing I hated about her.

‘How do you know it’s dull if you can’t hear it?’ I wanted to sink my fingers into the soft curls that cascaded over the sides of the chair and tighten them. Hold her there. Make it so she couldn’t move.

Make it so she can’t do anything but beg.

‘I don’t need to hear it.’ Her gaze held nothing but challenge. ‘It’s you. Everything you say is dull.’

It was obvious that she wanted me to fight back, to give her a response of some kind. But, no matter how much I wanted to, I never obliged her.

‘There’s an architectural firm in London,’ I said, playing the ace up my sleeve. ‘I hear you’re quite interested in working for them.’

That wiped the insolent look off her lovely face.

As it should. I’d done my research. Before you engaged with any enemy, you found out all you could about them, their strengths and their weaknesses. Most especially their weaknesses. And I’d discovered Poppy’s.

Her mother had let slip that she’d been angling for an internship at a prestigious London architectural firm, and that she wanted it quite desperately. Which was fortuitous since I knew the owner of said firm rather well.

Leverage. And I had it.

Poppy scowled. ‘Could you stop looming over me? It’s pretty damn annoying.’

So. Lily hadn’t been lying. Apparently Poppy was very interested in working for them.

Satisfied, I straightened then coiled up the earbuds and put them in my trouser pocket.

Her jaw hardened and I could tell she was debating whether or not to demand them back.

I saved her the trouble. ‘You can have them once I’ve finished.’

‘They’re mine.’

‘I don’t care. This is a business meeting and I don’t have time for your sullen teenage dramatics.’

‘You’re an asshole.’

‘And you’re a bitch. Glad we’re clear on where we both stand.’ I moved back down to my seat and sat, folding my hands on the table in front of me.

Her gaze met mine, anger sparking in the molten copper depths. She hadn’t bothered to take her feet off the table, deliberately keeping them there, and I had no doubt it was to mess with me.

Well, I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. ‘Now that I have your attention, are you ready to listen? Or shall I have Security show you the way out?’

She leaned back in the chair, putting her hands behind her head once more. This time, she kept her gaze on mine. ‘Okay,’ she said, as if it wasn’t a big deal. ‘Mum said you had some kind of wonderful offer to make me. Let’s hear it then.’

As if I was the one who’d come to her and not the other way around.

Really, it was a constant mystery to me why my cock was so interested in her when the rest of me couldn’t stand her. And it wasn’t just because she was beautiful.

There was something about the way she continually challenged me that I found...exciting. And I wasn’t sure why that was, since I’d never had that reaction to any other woman before.

I would never understand it.

‘I need a PA,’ I said, getting straight to the point. ‘The last one I had left yesterday and I can’t operate without one. However, I’m having difficulties finding someone who’ll work for a King.’

‘Can’t think why that might be,’ Poppy murmured. ‘Oh, wait. Could it be all that crime? Or no, maybe it’s just because you’re a prick.’

‘It’ll be for a month,’ I continued, as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘Until I can find myself a permanent replacement. The hours are long, but you’ll be well recompensed and—’

‘No.’

It wasn’t often that people interrupted me. In addition to having a reputation for being a cold and ruthless bastard, I was also infamous for giving people one chance and one chance only. If you screwed up you were out, no questions and definitely no argument.

It wasn’t personal. It was simply business. Time was money and if there was one thing I hated to waste it was money.

I wasn’t the CFO of King Enterprises for nothing.

‘I haven’t finished,’ I said coldly.

‘You might not, but I have.’ Shoving her chair back, she got to her feet and sauntered around the table, heading towards the door. ‘You can keep the earbuds.’

I let her get all the way to the door.

Then I said, ‘I’ll tell Ms Jordan that you’re not interested in an internship then. I’m sure she has a few other candidates lined up so I don’t imagine she’ll be too concerned about losing you.’

Poppy had her hand on the door handle, her back to me, all ready to leave.

Silence fell.

‘You’ve spoken to Ms Jordan?’ This time her voice was devoid of her earlier disdain.

I would have smiled if I’d been a different man. But I wasn’t and I’d had enough of this stupid game.

‘Yes,’ I said flatly. ‘She’ll agree to the internship on one condition. That you get a good reference from me.’

Poppy’s shoulders tensed, but still she didn’t turn. ‘Why is that necessary?’

‘Because I told her it was.’ I stared at her stiff figure, the rigid tension in it at odds with all those soft curves. ‘Now, are you ready to sit down like a good girl and listen to what I have to say?’

CHAPTER TWO
Poppy

I DIDN’T WANT to turn around because I knew what I’d see: satisfaction plastered all over Xander King’s stupid, handsome face.

I hated him so much. Hated him.

How had he known about that internship? Who’d told him? There was only one person I’d mentioned it to and...

Dammit. Of course. Mum. She was always interfering. And she’d always had a soft spot for Xander, God only knew why, and she would have told him if he’d asked.

I should have known this demand for a meeting would have come with strings, because there were always strings when it came to men. Nothing came for free with them. I only had to look at my mother to understand that.

Are you ready to sit down like a good girl...?

A shiver chased over my skin, the way it always did whenever he spoke in his cold, deep voice. With that hard note of authority, the one that hooked deep into something inside of me. A part of me I loathed.

God, I didn’t want to look at him. I hated looking at him.

But I’d spent years telling myself I didn’t care about him in the slightest, and so I forced myself to turn around, to arrange my expression into one of complete boredom.

Yet, no matter how much I told myself I didn’t care, I felt it the way I always did, the intense gut-punch of his presence.

He was a King and he carried himself like one, as if he ruled the whole city and everyone in it. The chair he sat in was his throne, the boardroom his throne room, the King employees his courtiers who paid homage.

All the King brothers were charismatic and Xander certainly had his share. Something to do with his height, broad shoulders and long, lean body, showed off to perfection by the tailored dark grey suit he wore.

His features were hawkish, all sharp planes and angles. He had straight black brows and deeply set black eyes, coal-black hair that he kept cut ruthlessly short and a straight classical nose. He was a study in darkness—intense, coldly beautiful and incredibly compelling. His air of complete and utter confidence mesmerised me. Yet the part of him that fascinated me the most was his mouth. Because though his face was hard, his mouth was not. There was a sensuality in the curve of his bottom lip that hit me hard every time.

I shouldn’t look at that mouth. I shouldn’t look at him.

I shouldn’t shiver every time he was near. I shouldn’t notice that he was even a man at all.

But, God help me, I did. And I loathed him all the more for it.

Especially now, when he was holding something I very much wanted over my head.

‘Are you deliberately being a bastard or were you born that way?’ I kept the question light, ignoring my racing pulse. ‘No, wait. I think I can answer that one already.’

‘My parents were married, if that’s what you mean.’ He said it with a totally straight face and I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. Probably not since he was devoid of a sense of humour. ‘Sit down, Poppy.’

I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to do anything he said. My heart was still thumping from that moment he’d stood over me and pulled out my earbuds and I was terrified he’d somehow find out how badly that had affected me.

Instead I leaned back against the door and put my hands in my pockets, trying to pretend I didn’t give a shit about anything, least of all him. ‘I’m fine right here, thanks. Standing will help keep me awake while you bore me to death with tedious details.’

His brows twitched and if those intense black eyes had been swords, I would have been pinned to the door, both of them run straight through my heart.

Yeah, I knew. He hated me as much as I hated him. To be honest, it was the only thing that made any interaction between us bearable.

‘Suit yourself.’ He didn’t even have the decency to look away and give me a couple of moments breathing space. He just sat there, staring at me as if he wanted to take me apart piece by piece. ‘Like I said, I need a PA for the month until I can find a replacement. It’s not an easy job, but you’ll be well paid and—’

‘Thanks,’ I interrupted again, kicking my heel against the door purely to irritate him. ‘But, sadly, I already have a job.’

A lie. I didn’t have a job. I’d been fired from my latest position the previous week because the boss was an ass who thought that since my mother apparently whored around for free, he could take a piece of me for nothing too.

Story of my damn life.

I’d decided right then and there I wasn’t working for another man. My mother told me I was being ridiculous, that I should use my looks to get what I wanted, because wasn’t that why God had given them to me?

But I wasn’t her. I didn’t want to be pawed over and viewed as nothing but a sex object, and I certainly didn’t want to have my entire livelihood based on my looks and what I could get out of men.

What I wanted was to go to London and get an internship at Jordan Architectural, one of the best architectural firms in Europe and run by Elizabeth Jordan, one of the best female architects in the world.

I had my architecture degree—which I didn’t get the best marks for, it was true—but I was hoping that what I lacked in academic ability, I could make up for in passion and my own artistic vision. Those I had in abundance.

Yeah, but you’re not going anywhere unless you listen to King Dick over there. So how about you stop sabotaging yourself just because you don’t like him?

He was looking at me again, all disapproving and stern, like a high school principal with a naughty student. And I could feel my knees getting weak.

Irritated with myself, I lifted my chin and raised an eyebrow. ‘What?’

‘You heard what I said about that internship, didn’t you? About how you wouldn’t get it until you had a good reference from me?’

‘Yeah, so? I’ll call her and speak to her myself. I can—’

‘I know Liz personally.’ This time it was his turn to interrupt me. ‘And if I tell her you’re not worth taking on, then you’re not worth taking on.’

‘Oh, right, so you’re on a first-name basis with one of the best architects in Europe—’ I didn’t hold back with the sarcasm ‘—Mr I-Have-a-Huge-Crime-Empire-and-Should-Be-in-Jail? Yeah, of course you do.’

Xander’s gaze didn’t even flicker, but something shifted in the black depths. Something that I was sure was anger and, for some insane reason, it made a little thrill shoot straight down my spine.

He was always so very self-contained, nothing getting through that stern front of his, and it was very satisfying knowing that I could ruffle him a little.

Stupid of me though. I didn’t want to make him angry. I didn’t care enough to make him angry.

‘Liz is Australian,’ he said without inflection. ‘Which you’d know if you’d done your research properly. She got her degree here and I knew her at university. She’s an old friend of mine.’

Heat rose in my cheeks.

I should have known that, but I didn’t. I hadn’t, in fact, done my research. I’d been too busy running around trying to get enough work to cover Mum’s debts as well as my student loan to do some basic fact checking.

Idiot. And of course Elizabeth Jordan would be one of bloody Xander’s friends.

I kicked my heel harder against the door, refusing to acknowledge my embarrassment. ‘So what’s the deal then? I have to work for you in return for this internship? Is that what you’re saying?’

‘I believe that’s what I’ve been saying for the past half an hour, yes.’ He was sitting so very still, his gaze unblinking and direct. Making me want to look away.

I didn’t though. I stared straight back, forcing myself to hold it. ‘You know I’d rather work for Genghis Khan than you.’

‘And I’d rather hire literally anyone else.’

‘So why don’t you?’

He didn’t reply for a minute, black eyes still fixed to mine. Then slowly he sat back in his chair, long legs stretched out in front of him, uncoiling with all the grace of a panther. ‘Like I already told you, I can’t find anyone else. None of the temping agencies will work with me and the only people who are applying for the job are enemies of the King family and I wouldn’t trust them as far as I can throw them.’

‘I’m an enemy of the King family,’ I pointed out, just in case he wasn’t aware. ‘What makes you think you can trust me any more than you can trust them?’

‘Because you want that internship.’ He folded his arms across his broad chest, watching me intently. ‘And I think you’ll do anything to get it.’

Anything...

Why did the way he said that make my breath catch? And why did I suddenly start imagining all the things I could do for him to get that internship?

Furious with myself, I snapped, ‘If you’re thinking I’m going to get down on my knees and suck your cock for it, you can damn well think again.’

His eyes glittered, sharp and metallic. ‘You really think I’m that kind of man?’ There was real anger in his deep voice now and for a second I couldn’t focus on anything else. Because I’d never heard it before. Xander King, Mr Robot, having an honest-to-God emotional reaction?

‘I don’t know,’ I said, wanting to push him further, to see how far I could go. ‘Are you?’

‘No.’ His reply was instant and full of that dark note of anger. ‘I don’t need to blackmail women to get sex. And, even if I did, you’d be the last woman on earth I’d blackmail. Because, quite frankly, I don’t want you anywhere near my cock.’

‘Why not?’ I demanded before I could stop myself.

And the instant I said it I wished I hadn’t. I didn’t care about his stupid dick and I certainly didn’t care whether he wanted me or not.

‘Why not?’ Xander echoed, raising one black brow. ‘I would have thought that would be obvious. You’re my stepsister and I don’t like you. I never have. And, apart from anything else, I’m not attracted to you in the slightest. Does that answer your question?’

The heat in my cheeks deepened.

Idiot. I should never have said that. Why had I? The only explanation was that I was so conditioned to arguing with him that it must have been some kind of weird reflex.

‘Yes.’ I refused to look away. Refused to acknowledge, too, a strange disappointment that wouldn’t go away no matter how hard I ignored it. ‘Not that I’d do it anyway. I’d rather blow Vlad the Impaler.’

Xander said nothing. Instead he looked down at his watch, some heavy platinum thing that highlighted the strong bones of his wrist. ‘Are you going to accept my offer or not? I have a meeting in five minutes and time is money.’

I dearly wanted to tell him no, that I wouldn’t be working for him, not now, not tomorrow, not ever. Not even if he paid me a million bucks.

But there was a little voice in my head nagging away, telling me I’d be stupid to give up this chance at something I’d been wanting to do for years simply because I hated Xander King.

It was just a month. That was all. I could do that, couldn’t I?

‘You know I’ve never had an office job in my entire life, right?’ He had to know exactly what he’d be taking on, since my entire career was a sorry list of retail and hospitality jobs that I’d either left or been fired from for stating my opinion, or because of my attitude. Or they didn’t like my jeans or my hair or whatever.

I didn’t care. Those jobs weren’t what I wanted to do anyway.

You might care about this one.

I gritted my teeth as Xander’s black gaze continue to pin me.

‘Are you saying you can’t do it?’ His voice was so cold, like an ice cube brushed over my skin.

I repressed my instinctive shiver, keeping my chin high. ‘Of course I can do it. Seriously, how hard could it be? Making coffee, getting your dry cleaning and little gifts for your girlfriends. Easy.’

His beautiful face was expressionless. ‘I have other people to get my dry cleaning and I can make my own coffee. I also don’t have any...girlfriends.’

He said the word like it tasted bad and I didn’t know why it made me feel something like satisfaction. What did I care if he had girlfriends or not?

‘Whatever.’ I kicked my boot harder against the door. ‘It’s not like it’s hard—’

‘You’ll start at eight-thirty sharp every morning and I don’t like lateness so you’ll need to be prompt. The work day finishes when I do—unless I send you home early—and I don’t finish before six. At the earliest. And as for your duties, they’ll be basically anything I tell you to do.’ He paused and his gaze sharpened. ‘Do you understand?’

My heartbeat sped up and I had no idea why.

You like the idea of doing anything he tells you to do...

No. God, why would I like the idea of that? I hated being told what to do.

‘Sure,’ I said. ‘You basically want a slave. No wonder no one wants to work with you.’

His expression didn’t even flicker. ‘I don’t like attitude and I don’t like backchat. If you disagree with me I’ll be open to discussing it, but if it’s to argue for the sake of it then you’ll get short shrift. Once I make a decision you will not argue with it.’ He pushed his chair back and got to his feet, six foot three of tall, dark and compelling. ‘You get one chance with me, Poppy. One chance and that’s all.’

My jaw ached with keeping in all the words I wanted to fling at him. The need to tell him he was a controlling douchebag and I’d rather crawl naked over broken glass than work for him or do a single thing he said.

But...the promise of that internship was enough for me to swallow any sarcastic comebacks.

‘You’re serious about this reference?’ I asked instead.

He moved purposefully towards me, obviously expecting me to get out of the way of the door. But I didn’t.

I stayed exactly where I was.

He came to a stop in front of me and at last that stony expression on his face flickered. ‘One thing to understand about me is that I never lie. You’ll only get the truth from me. So if I promise you a reference, I mean it.’

I tried not to feel satisfied at that flicker of expression. ‘Well, I guess that’s—’

‘But you’ll only get a good reference if you perform to my satisfaction,’ he went on coldly. ‘If you don’t then you don’t get a thing.’

Perform to my satisfaction...

The words echoed weirdly in my head and I became suddenly aware of how close to me he was, towering over me, his gaze like black ice.

Heat began to prickle across my skin.

He was so tall, so broad, and he wore some kind of subtle cologne that smelled fresh, like water or rain, with an edge to it, a darkness. A rainstorm...

My mouth dried, my heartbeat thumping uncomfortably in my ears. Standing here had been a mistake. But then if I moved, I’d be betraying something and one thing I knew was that I couldn’t betray any kind of weakness in front of this man. I’d already given him power over me by admitting how much I wanted the internship. I couldn’t afford to lose any more ground.

I pushed myself away from the door and took a step.

Towards him.

CHAPTER THREE
Xander

POPPY TOOK A step towards me, her copper eyes full of challenge, clearly having no idea how fragile my control was.

Apparently, she’d been put on earth solely to test me.

In the normal scheme of things I had no problem keeping myself in check. But this woman... Christ, she’d done nothing but push me from the moment she’d stepped into the room. And now my patience—usually limitless—was almost extinct.

Then again, I didn’t know what I’d expected. She’d been doing that since she was ten years old.

At first, I’d been happy at the thought of having a little sister to spoil since I’d been rather isolated as a kid. But then she’d turned up, made of nothing but anger and spite, and had decided, for some reason known only to herself, that I was the worst person on the planet and had treated me accordingly.

Things had gone downhill from there.

I’d known at the time that she’d just lost her father and so, for at least a year after she came to live with us, I tried my best to be friendly towards her. But she never softened. Nothing I did was right and nothing I said changed things. She either ignored me completely or picked at me constantly, pushing and pushing to get a rise out of me.

She didn’t treat either Ajax or Leon like that, only me.

So I stopped trying to be nice and simply ignored her. Which would have worked fine if I hadn’t accidentally caught her skinny-dipping in the pool early one morning. She’d been eighteen, rising from the water like a sea goddess, her hair dripping and glossy down her back. Her skin had glistened a deep bronze, her lovely face devoid of its usual angry scowl, and she’d stood there by the edge, her arms raised, squeezing the water from her hair, looking out towards the ocean since our house was built on a cliff. And she’d smiled.

It slew me, that smile.

That was when my dick had decided it wanted her. And the damn thing hadn’t let up since.

Now, I tried to hold onto the last fraying shreds of my control, but then she took that step, getting close, inches away from me, pushing me the way she always did. And I could smell her, that sweet jasmine scent, feel the heat of her lovely body. And all I could think about was turning her around and pressing her hard against the door, dragging her jeans down and getting inside her.

Shutting that smart, beautiful mouth with my palm. Getting her smoky voice screaming into it with pleasure. Or maybe putting her on her knees and making her beg. Or even turning her over my knee and spanking that perfect ass red.

You’re supposed to take care of her.

Yes, I’d made that promise. And I wouldn’t break it, no matter how hard she pushed me. My control might be in shreds, but I would never lose it completely. I kept my promises. I always told the truth.

Except when you lied about not wanting her anywhere near your dick.

I ignored that thought.

‘So basically I have to do whatever you say.’ She came to a stop and folded her arms, giving me a belligerent look. ‘Sounds to me like you have all the power.’

‘No one is forcing you to take the job.’

‘But I have to if I want to get the internship.’

‘Of course not.’ Did she really need this explained to her? ‘You could call the firm yourself and ask for one. You don’t have to have a reference from me.’

‘Yeah, but it’s not like they’re going to pay any attention to some nobody from Australia asking for an internship.’

‘No, they won’t.’ The truth had to be said, even if it made her uncomfortable. ‘Internships there are incredibly sought after.’

‘How convenient.’ She glared at me.

‘Don’t take the job then.’ I was getting more and more irritated. By her proximity. By that maddeningly soft-looking cloud of black hair. By her delicious scent. By the pulse at the base of her throat that I was somehow becoming acutely aware of with every passing second.

Jesus, I had to get her out of here. Ajax was going to arrive at any moment and the last thing I wanted was to have a meeting with my brother with an inconvenient hard-on.

She scowled. ‘You could just give me the reference.’

‘You could just take the job.’

‘You promised your dad you’d look after my mother and me,’ she shot back. ‘Wasn’t that what you told me?’

She wasn’t wrong. I had told her that.

Over the past five years, after Dad had gone to prison, I hadn’t seen much of her, though not for want of trying. I’d wanted to keep that promise I’d made him, but almost the very second the prison doors had closed, both Lily and Poppy had disappeared. I’d tracked them down eventually to a very upmarket apartment in Bondi, which was a surprise given that the few assets in Lily’s name had been frozen along with Dad’s. Poppy had some kind of waitressing job which only paid meagrely, so it wasn’t as if she was supporting her mother.

I had my suspicions about how they managed to afford such an expensive place, but it wasn’t my job to interfere in my father’s ill-conceived marriage, so I decided not to ask her any questions. Instead, I told them about my promise to Dad, offering them some monetary help. Naturally Lily instantly accepted, which didn’t surprise me. My stepmother never let an opportunity go to waste.

However, that promise had been between Dad and me, a private agreement, and it was what set me apart from him. He had no honour, but I did. I kept my promises.

It meant something to me, that promise, and it wasn’t Poppy’s to use now. Especially not if she was using it to manipulate me.

The days of people using me were over.

Simmering anger in my veins burned hot, my patience slipping from my control no matter how hard I tried to keep hold of it.

‘That promise was one I made to my father,’ I said icily. ‘Are you seriously thinking you can use that to get me to do what you want?’

The smooth golden skin of her cheeks reddened. ‘That’s...not what I meant.’

I took a step towards her, unable to stop myself. ‘Or perhaps you expect me to give you something for nothing. Is that how you think life works?’

She blinked and stepped back. ‘No, I don’t think—’

‘Perhaps you expect me to hand it to you on a plate?’ I took yet another step, forcing her back again. ‘That after years of treating me like your worst enemy, suddenly I have something you want and you think I’m just going to give it to you?’ My voice had got colder, deadlier as I kept walking forward, something inside me taking immense pleasure in her hurried retreat. ‘No, Poppy. That’s not how this is going to work.’

I didn’t stop, answering only to the fury that burned hot inside me, continuing to pace forward, forcing her backward until her spine hit the door, leaving her with nowhere to go.

She made a soft sound, her eyes wide as they looked up into mine, her full red lips parting. Something was glowing in her gaze, a golden spark, and the pulse at the base of her throat was beating fast and getting faster.

Was she scared? Had I frightened her? Or was it something else?

Mesmerised despite myself, I stepped even closer, looking down into her beautiful eyes.

Jesus. Was that—?

I never got a chance to complete the thought because Poppy raised her hands, her palms connecting with my chest, and I found myself being shoved back hard.

A tense silence fell.

She’d never touched me before and I’d certainly never touched her. And that had clearly been a good thing, because the heat of her palms and the pressure of them on my chest was echoing throughout my entire body, stealing my breath. Stealing my control. Making my cock get even harder.

Her expression was tight with anger, her shoulders rigid, eyes glittering, delicate fingers curled into fists.

I’d crossed the line by getting close to her and I knew it, and suddenly I was even more furious than I’d been a second ago.

This was her fault. How dare she touch me? How dare she get me hard? In my own goddamned boardroom. How dare she drive me to the edge of my control so that I made stupid decisions? Such as forcing her up against that fucking door.

‘What?’ I snapped before I could stop myself. ‘You don’t like being cornered? Well, neither do I. You want that reference then working for me is the only way you’ll get it, understood?’

The fury in her expression burned hotter.

‘You bastard.’ Her cheeks were a deep red, her eyes molten. ‘Next time you pull a move like that one, I won’t just shove you, I’ll call the damn police and have you arrested for harassment.’

‘And next time you use the promise I made to my father purely to push me, I’ll make sure to tell Liz that under no circumstances should she employ you in any capacity whatsoever.’

The look in her eyes blazed and she took a couple of steps towards me. And for a second I thought she was going to come at me, and I honestly didn’t know what I would have done if she had. Whether I would have taken her down onto the floor and had her right then and there or called Security to have her thrown out. It was a toss-up.

Luckily I was saved from finding out because right at that moment the door of the boardroom opened and Ajax, my oldest brother, walked in.

He stopped dead as soon as he noticed Poppy, looking from me to her and then back again. ‘Am I interrupting?’

‘No,’ I snarled.

‘Yes,’ Poppy snapped. ‘Your brother was in the process of harassing me.’

Ajax’s light blue eyes—disturbing in contrast to his black hair and eyebrows—narrowed. At me.

Furious, I simply stared back, not even bothering to speak. Ajax knew Poppy and I hated each other, just like he also knew I would never hurt or harass a woman ever. So why the hell he was looking at me like that I couldn’t imagine.

‘You two should really stay clear of each other,’ he said at last. ‘Either that or you should just fuck and get it out of your system.’

Poppy blinked in outrage and opened her mouth, probably to say something she’d regret.

Luckily for her, I got in first. ‘So?’ I said, ignoring my brother. ‘Are you going to take the job or not?’

Her gaze burned into mine. ‘I’d rather die.’

‘Fine. Suit yourself.’ I lifted my chin in the direction of the exit. ‘There’s the door.’

Her jaw was tight, every inch of her vibrating with fury.

She’d never looked more intensely fuckable and I was very conscious of Ajax’s gaze and the amusement in it.

Of course he knew exactly what my problem was.

‘Enjoy finding someone who’ll put up with your bullshit,’ Poppy spat, tossing her head and turning on her heel.

‘Enjoy not getting that internship,’ I snapped back, gritting my teeth against the urge to go after her and haul her into my arms, show her a few things that would make her change her mind.

‘I don’t need that internship.’ She pulled open the door. ‘And I don’t need anything from you.’ Then she walked through it and slammed it shut behind her.

‘Still a hit with the ladies, I see,’ Ajax murmured.

Rage and thwarted lust boiled in my veins, no small part of that rage directed at myself for being stupid enough to lose my temper with her.

Because I had lost my temper. Something that almost never happened. What was it about Poppy bloody Valentine that got under my skin so easily?

Turning, I stalked over to the windows that looked out over Sydney’s blue harbour, trying to get a grip on myself.

If I’d been in my own office, I’d have sat down at my computer and played around with my stock portfolio, because numbers always had the ability to calm me.

There was nothing irritating about numbers. They were clean. They were honest. There was no subtext to them. And, best of all, they were absolutely devoid of any emotion.

‘What do you want?’ I kept my gaze on the view, not bothering to moderate my tone. ‘I’m not in the mood for a meeting.’

‘No kidding. What the hell happened?’

‘Nothing I want to talk about.’

‘You know I’m right.’ Ajax’s voice sounded closer. ‘You should just fuck her already.’

‘I wouldn’t fuck her if she was the last woman on earth.’

He laughed. ‘For a man who’s all about the truth, you sure do a lot of lying to yourself.’

Another thing to hate about her. The way she made me lie.

Keep blaming it on her if it makes you feel better. But you know it’s your own weakness you’re pissed off about.

I thrust my hands in my pockets. ‘Tell me what you want, Ajax.’

He ignored me. ‘What’s all this about a job? You hiring Poppy now?’

‘Lisa left last week and I need a temporary replacement until I have time to find someone more permanent.’

‘That’s what temp agencies are for.’

‘They won’t work with a King.’

‘Sure. They won’t work with you.’

I could see myself glowering in the reflective glass of the window. With an effort, I tried to smooth my expression. ‘Like you don’t have any problems retaining staff.’

Ajax grunted. He knew I was right. Neither of us were exactly people pleasers. Which was why our middle brother Leon did all the PR work for our company.

‘You can’t go without a PA for a week or so?’ he asked instead.

‘I have a...project I’m working on that needs my full attention.’ I didn’t want to talk about that particular project with anyone, especially not Poppy, even though it concerned her. It was the last lie I had to uncover. The last lie I had to destroy. The truth about her father’s death and my role in it. ‘I need someone around to handle any details that might crop up.’

‘Project?’ Ajax’s voice was sharp. ‘What project?’

I turned and met my brother’s stare head-on. ‘None of your damn business.’

His blue gaze didn’t even flicker. ‘I’m CEO of this company. Everything is my damn business.’

‘This has got nothing to do with the company. Ergo, like I said, it’s none of your business.’

Ajax tried to stare me down like he stared down everyone who crossed him.

Unfortunately for him that didn’t work with me.

He gave another of his non-committal grunts instead. ‘Fine. Your funeral. But you want a piece of advice?’

‘No.’

‘Okay, I lied. It’s not advice. It’s an order. Sort out whatever the fuck your project is and fast. I’m going to need you on deck and focused in the next couple of weeks.’

Momentarily diverted, I frowned at him. ‘Why? What’s going on?’

He gave me one of his trademark smiles, just on the edge of vicious. ‘None of your fucking business.’

Irritating bastard.

He left soon after that and the second he was out of the door, my brain started back to thinking about just what the hell I was going to do about Poppy bloody Valentine.

Ajax had now given me an extra time pressure, which was the last thing I needed, especially if I wanted to complete this pet project of mine. I could have put it on hold if I’d really wanted to, but I’d spent the last five years putting it on hold and now I wanted it done—and done quickly.

It was the last thing I needed to do to make good on my promise to Dad.

The last atonement to make up for a life I’d been responsible for taking.

But if I was going to get it done before Ajax needed me ‘on deck’ then I had to have help. I had to have an assistant.

I scowled at the view of Sydney through the glass.

Shit.

I was going to have to be nice to Poppy bloody Valentine, wasn’t I?

CHAPTER FOUR
Poppy

‘YOU COULD JUST sleep with him,’ my mother said as she picked up her favourite red lipstick and began to apply it. ‘Men are simple like that. It’s easy, quick, and if you’re good they’ll give you anything you want.’

I was sitting on her bed, watching her get ready for dinner with one of the partners from a multi-billion-dollar tax firm. Listening to her hand out advice on what I should do to handle Xander and the internship problem.

It wasn’t something I wanted to discuss with her, but she’d asked how the meeting had gone and so I’d given her the unadulterated truth. Which naturally she put her own spin on.

That was my mother’s answer to everything. Sleep with the dude and he’ll shower you with gifts. It had worked so well for her, after all.

At least up until the day her sure thing had gone to prison.

‘I’d rather sleep with Satan than Xander King,’ I said, my fingers picking at the flocked fabric of the cheap quilt.

Mum gave me an irritated look in the mirror. ‘Well, I can’t sleep with him. That would be a step too far, even for me.’

I gave an inward shudder at the thought. ‘God, Mum, I’m not asking you to.’

‘But you said you wanted that internship.’

‘Yes, I do. But sex isn’t the only way to get it.’

She frowned at her reflection as she put the finishing touches to her lipstick. ‘I don’t know why you persist in doing everything the hard way, Poppy. You’ve got the looks. Why not use that to—?’

‘No,’ I interrupted, not wanting to have this argument again. ‘I’m not doing that and that’s final.’

Conversations with my mother always ended up with her telling me I was beautiful and that she didn’t know why I didn’t use it to my advantage more often.

She didn’t mean it as a compliment. Her own looks had got her everything she’d ever wanted in life and she didn’t understand why I insisted on doing things like study and actual work. Even when I’d waved my architecture degree in her face she’d simply given me a puzzled look and asked why I was bothering with university. Money could be got easily enough if you put on a short skirt and batted your eyelashes at the right guy. Why was I working so hard at something I didn’t need?

I knew I shouldn’t blame Mum for the way she was. After my father died, leaving us with nothing, she’d had to do something to keep us afloat and she had no schooling to speak of. So she’d got back into the stripping she’d used to do after she’d left school and before Dad had come along, and there she’d met Augustus King—crime boss extraordinaire.

He’d promised her security and she’d grabbed it with both hands, not caring that he was the dodgiest of dodgy criminals, throwing herself into the lavish lifestyle that came with him. Then it had all ended when he’d gone to prison, leaving her with nothing but debts.

In her mind she had no choice about how she was going to pay them off—she needed to find another man to help her. Even though she was already married. But then vows didn’t matter to my mother, only survival did.

‘If it’s pride getting in your way then you might want to rethink that.’ She straightened and dropped the lipstick back in her handbag. ‘You can’t afford it. Because even if you were to get this internship, how are you going to get to London? I certainly don’t have the money for you to get there, let alone live there.’

There was that. Details I thought I’d handle if and when I ever got the internship. But I was going to have to think about them, wasn’t I? Because I had no money and since getting fired with no references from my last job I had no expectations of getting another any time soon.

Xander did say he’d pay you well...

I gritted my teeth, trying not to remember what had happened in his boardroom. How he’d slowly paced towards me, long and lean and fluid as a panther, dark eyes full of fury. And how I’d been unable to stop myself from retreating, something inside me wanting to give way before him.

Then I’d found the door against my back and him right in front of me, his tall, broad figure blocking everything out, the blackness of his gaze mesmerising. He’d been all darkness and heat, the force of his fury like a storm front, and I’d become breathless with a strange combination of fear and excitement, tinged with an odd satisfaction.

That somehow I’d got a rise out of him. That I’d made him lose his precious temper. That underneath his cold, uptight front was something else. A black fire that burned very, very hot.

Seeing that and feeling my own response to it was bad enough.

Him nearly recognising my excitement had been worse.

I shouldn’t have pushed him. Shouldn’t have touched him at all, but it was either that or have him discover what a turn-on I found his fury, and there was no way on earth I was going to let him know that.

I’d got angry at him, using my rage to cover the fact that my heart was racing and I felt hot—that there was an ache between my thighs that wouldn’t go away.

‘You should just fuck and get it out of your system,’ Ajax had said and I hadn’t been able to get that thought out of my head.

What would have happened if Ajax hadn’t come in?

I’d been so mad at Xander I’d seriously considered punching his stupid beautiful face, and what would have happened if I had? He wouldn’t have let me hit him, no way. He might have grabbed me, put my hands behind my back. And then maybe he would have forced me to kneel before him and—

‘If you think I’m going to ask Richard to pay for a trip to Europe for you, you’ve got another think coming,’ Mum said. ‘I’ve got too many other debts that need to be paid first.’

My face felt hot. Shit, I needed to stop thinking about...that. About him. Now.

‘I wasn’t expecting you to,’ I muttered, trying to force my attention back to what she was saying.

‘Well, you need to do something to help out, Poppy. I can’t do this all on my own, not again. What about that waitressing job?’

My gut clenched. I didn’t have the energy to tell her I’d been fired because I wouldn’t let the boss cop a feel. I knew what she’d say already. She’d get that angry, disappointed look and then tell me that I should have sucked it up and taken the money. Because we needed it and how could I put personal feelings of discomfort ahead of our survival?

The problem was, she wasn’t wrong.

My stepdad had given Mum an allowance before he’d gone to prison and it had been a generous one. Xander had continued the allowance after Augustus went to jail and it was enough to live comfortably on. But it wasn’t enough for Mum. She always spent the entire thing on stuff she didn’t need and then complained when we didn’t have enough money for rent, hence her having to find a new sugar daddy and me having to keep working to cover our costs.

I should have told her to stop spending or just let her get herself out of the hole she’d dug. But I couldn’t. She’d never wanted children and when I came along—her little accident—she hadn’t been glad. She’d been pissed off. Then she’d sucked it up and cared for me, and now it was my turn to care for her.

It wasn’t her fault Dad had died. It was mine.

‘It’s fine,’ I lied about the job.

‘Good. Because we’ve got another bank payment due and I don’t have the cash myself. I might see if I can get anything out of Richard, but don’t count on it.’

Crap. So she’d burned through her allowance for this month. Again.

You know what the answer is.

Double crap.

There were too many reasons why working for stupid Xander King would be a good idea. Not only would I get that internship, but I could earn some money to get me to London and ensure Mum’s debts were paid off as well.

All I had to do was suck up my intense personal dislike of him.

The thought made me tired, the stress of the past few years suddenly bearing down on me. All I’d done since earning my degree was go from one crap job to another, earning nothing, getting nowhere. I should be trying for jobs at architecture firms, but I hadn’t been successful so far. And I knew why that was.

The people in the industry knew of my association with the Kings and they didn’t want to employ anyone who’d had anything to do with that family. Especially not some woman with the name of a burlesque dancer and less than stellar marks. No, if I wanted to get any kind of architectural career, I was going to have to leave the country. Hence the internship.

Stop being such a baby and suck it up.

My gut clenched tighter.

I was going to have to accept working for Xander as the price of getting what I wanted, wasn’t I?

Great.

‘Well?’ Mum was looking at me in the mirror now. ‘Why are you looking like that? There is an easier way and you know it.’

Yes. By attaching myself to a man and letting him do things for me. I hated the thought. That might have worked for my mother, but I’d never wanted it for myself. I’d wanted to do things my way, using the things I was good at, such as drawing and design, not because I happened to be beautiful and good at giving head.

At that moment my phone started buzzing in my pocket. Weird—who’d be calling me? I had a few friends, but they only ever texted.

Digging the phone out, I slid off Mum’s bed and went into the hallway, ignoring her frowning after me. The call was from a number I didn’t recognise, which instantly made me suspicious. Hopefully it wouldn’t be the debt collectors already.

I hit answer anyway. ‘Hello?’

‘Poppy.’ The voice was deep, dark and cold, scraping deliciously over my nerve-endings, making me shiver helplessly and sending my heartbeat into the stratosphere.

‘Xander?’ I couldn’t quite believe it was him calling, but it was; I’d recognise that voice anywhere. ‘Wh-What the hell do you want?’ Hating the sound of my stutter, I moved into the tiny lounge of the apartment and went over to the big sliding window that let out onto the even tinier balcony. It was hot outside but Mum had bat ears and I didn’t want her overhearing.

There was a pause down the other end of the line.

‘I wanted to reiterate that the job offer is still open,’ he said at last.

Well, that was unexpected.

I pulled shut the sliding window then leaned back against the hot glass. ‘So, after backing me against a door and intimidating the hell out of me, you’re saying you still want to employ me?’

Another pause, even longer that time.

‘Yes. I was...out of line.’

I blinked in surprise, staring at the dusty expanse of cheap infill housing laid out beneath the balcony, but not seeing the ugliness of it this time.

‘Please don’t tell me this is an apology.’ I couldn’t quite keep the shock from my voice.

‘All right, I won’t tell you,’ he said stiffly. ‘But I lost my temper back there and I shouldn’t have done what I did.’

Holy shit. It was an apology.

For a second I didn’t know what to say. But I was saved from having to, because he kept on talking. ‘Still, I don’t take manipulation well, and I didn’t like you using a private promise to get me to do what you wanted.’

Ah yes, that.

A little wash of shame went through me. Okay, I shouldn’t have used that to get what I wanted, not when it was something my mother might have done, but...well... I’d been angry and frustrated, and not thinking straight. Which was totally his fault.

Really? His fault?

‘How was I to know that was important to you?’ I said defensively, ignoring the thought. ‘But...’ I took a breath, then forced the rest of the words out ‘... I guess I shouldn’t have said it.’

An awkward silence fell.

I gripped the phone tightly. If he wanted anything more from me, he was shit out of luck. That was as far as I was prepared to go.

‘Does that mean you’ll take the job?’ he asked finally.

I didn’t want to. I really didn’t want to.

‘What’s the salary?’ I tried to make it sound like a question and not a demand.

Another pause. Then he named a sum that nearly made my eyes pop out of my head. Jesus, that much for answering phones and getting coffee? Really?

‘That’s...’ I cleared my throat ‘...not bad.’

‘Are you going to take it? Yes or no?’

I closed my eyes against the bright sun, trying to ignore the feeling of foreboding that curled inside me, along with an excitement I didn’t want to acknowledge.

‘I’ll think about it,’ I said, unable to help digging at him a little.

‘No, you won’t think about it.’ His voice was flat. ‘I need an answer now.’

A shiver snaked down my spine at the demand in his tone.

Oh, God, why did I like that?

‘Fine.’ I tried to sound casual. ‘I’ll take it. I guess it won’t be—’

‘You start at eight-thirty tomorrow morning,’ he interrupted. ‘Don’t be late.’

Then he ended the call before I could say a word.

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