Played by the Billionaire Read online

  Lorelei opened the door and slipped through it before Amy could respond. Judging by the thud that hit the door about Lorelei’s head level, her parting words hadn’t been well received.

  The Aston Martin pulled out of the garage and when Liam stopped near the door she got in. His face was still a mask of fury; she could see the muscle in his jaw clenching and unclenching. He pulled away from the house with a squeal of the powerful car’s tires.

  When they neared the gates, Lorelei put her hand on Liam’s arm. “Can you stop the car for a moment?”

  “Did you forget something?” He braked and was about to shift into reverse.

  “No.” When he turned to her she put her hand up to his face, running her thumb over his upper cheek to relieve some of the tension there. She undid her belt and hoisted herself up as far as she could in the bucket seats, pulling his head down toward hers. Touching her lips to his, she kissed him with a compassion that surprised even her. A soft sigh escaped his lips. “I didn’t want that ugly scene to be what you remembered of our trip here,” she whispered.

  He kissed her again, echoing her gentleness. The all-consuming passion of earlier in the day was replaced by a tenderness that swelled her heart to epic proportions. When he pulled back Lorelei almost cried at the loss of contact.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  He waited while she refastened her seat belt before driving off. The muscle in his cheek no longer throbbed, but his knuckles still showed white on the steering wheel. She had the feeling if she wasn’t sitting next to him, he’d be back in San Francisco in a third of the time it took them to get there.

  “So, what should we do with the rest of the day? You mentioned a winery tour and a nice restaurant earlier.”

  Liam glanced at her and gave her a ghost of a smile. “Do you mind if we leave the tour for another time? Why don’t we take the coastal road back and then get something to eat in San Francisco?”

  “Sure, sounds nice.”

  The drive back to the Bay Area, while featuring stunning coastal scenery, was conducted in near silence. Liam answered politely when she asked a question, yet she could tell his mind was elsewhere. Was he thinking about what his mother said about his father? Was he curious to meet him now? Lorelei didn’t dare ask. What would she do?

  Wasn’t she really in a similar situation? Her dad was getting out of prison in a couple years. Was she going to meet him when he got out? Before she’d met Liam it was a question she’d asked herself on a daily basis. Since Liam, it had seemed to matter less and less.

  The traffic grew thicker when they got closer to the city, and they crawled along the highway. With nothing to look at except other bored commuters, she turned to gaze at the man next to her. “Do you want to talk about today?”

  “No.”

  “It may help…”

  He heaved a huge sigh. “Lorelei, I’ve dealt with that woman all my life. She cares only for herself. If she thinks I’m selfish then I probably inherited that from her. I’ll have my lawyer get her out of the house, and when I’m sure she’s left we can go back. Marcus was the one thing we had in common. Now that he’s gone, I don’t want to see her ever again.” His tone was firm, adamant, and the glare he shot her as she opened her mouth again withered the words on her tongue.

  They crept on for another couple of miles. “What are you going to tell your children when they want to know their grandmother?” She couldn’t let it go, she couldn’t. It wasn’t right to have family and completely cut them out of your life. With a sudden flash she knew she would see her father when he was free. She didn’t have the courage to face him in prison, but in the comfort of her mother’s home, she’d like to get to know the man whose DNA she shared.

  “I’m not going to have children so it’s a moot argument.”

  With her epiphany about her father, Lorelei had almost forgotten the point she’d been trying to make with Liam. The fact that he didn’t want children hit her so hard she forgot all about his mother and their cantankerous relationship.

  “You don’t want children? Why not? You’d make a great father.”

  “I had a rotten childhood. My mother was only the tip of the iceberg. No way I’d put another human being through that. No kids.” The muscle in his jaw was back to throbbing and the hands that had relaxed on the wheel clenched again.

  She opened her mouth to protest that his children wouldn’t share the same childhood; they would have a father to love and protect them. It didn’t seem to matter.

  …

  Liam glanced over at Lorelei as silence once again consumed the car. She stared out the window and he thought he spotted the shimmer of a tear on her cheek. All right, maybe he shouldn’t have been so curt about not wanting children. Lorelei would make a fabulous mom. She’d sew Halloween costumes and bake cookies and read bedtime stories to her children. They’d be so loved they probably wouldn’t ever want to leave home. Liam tried to imagine for a second what his life might have been if he’d had a mother like that. He shook his head. Since when had he started living in fantasyland? Seeing his mother again had reminded him of who and what he was—an unlovable bastard.

  He shot another glance at the woman next to him as he slowed and shifted into second gear. Tell her now. Tell her it was over. They obviously wanted different things in life. This was the perfect exit strategy. Catching sight of the sign for the Golden Gate Bridge, he changed lanes. He should exit their relationship as well. He had enough to complete the novel now. He’d experienced the rush of getting to know someone, known warmth and companionship. He’d…loved.

  Slamming on the brakes, he just missed the car in front, which had come to a halt. Lorelei stared at him, concerned. Damn it, he loved her. When the hell had that happened? When she’d laughed at his discomfort on the Muni? When she’d kissed him and then gone into anaphylactic shock? When he’d walked into the ballroom at the Four Seasons and she’d looked so sexy he’d wanted to blind every other man in the room so they didn’t look at her? Didn’t matter. It had happened and it was his worst nightmare. He’d rather move back in with his mother than admit to anyone he’d broken the number one Liam Manning rule—don’t fall in love.

  “If you want to take me home we can do dinner another night,” she said.

  Had she read his mind? Did the horror of his realization that he loved her show on his face?

  “I mean, I know seeing your mother has upset you. If you want to call it a day, take me home.”

  Seeing his mother again now seemed the least of his problems. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a poor date. It’s…well…I haven’t seen her since Marcus’s funeral. I thought she’d moved to Arizona.”

  “I understand, Liam. Seeing her probably brought back all the bad memories of your brother’s passing.”

  “Yeah.”

  He gave himself a mental kick up the ass. Is this how he wanted to end it, with him being petulant and her trying to console him? Thinking he’d broken it off because she wasn’t loving enough to comfort him?

  He glanced over again. Her hands were folded in her lap, one hand rubbing the back of the other rhythmically. No, this wasn’t how he was going to leave her.

  “This traffic is a nightmare. Let’s get off the highway and grab a bite to eat. I probably just haven’t eaten enough today.” He gave her his best smile and was rewarded with a lightening of her whole demeanor. Her shoulders straightened and her head rose a notch. She reached over and rubbed the back of his hand on the stick shift.

  If she was going to start touching him in the car they’d have to take the bus next time. The fact that he’d consider getting on the bus again with her showed how bad he had it.

  He was so screwed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Liam slammed the door to his apartment and headed straight to the liquor cabinet. He poured himself two fingers of whiskey and tossed them back in one. The amber liquid burned down his throat, hopefully incinerating the L-word he could feel lodged in his chest
. Dinner had been a disaster. Lorelei had tried too hard, and he hadn’t tried hard enough.

  When he’d dropped her at her apartment, he could sense her relief when he declined her invitation to come up. After pouring himself another drink he wandered back toward the computer room. The hum of the servers usually soothed him, taking away his tension. He was back in his world, only now something was missing.

  He checked his emails. David had sent a message asking if Liam wanted to perform the first penetration test on a new client. Usually it was his favorite job; it kept his skills up and allowed him to test his mettle against competitors’ firewalls. It was like proving himself each and every time. He replied to David, telling him to do it.

  Picking up the photo on his desk of him and Marcus, he stared at his brother’s face. Did he really know what he’d asked when he made Liam promise to finish his novel? Marcus had loved him all his life—there was no way he’d deliberately put him through this hell if he’d known. It was Liam’s fault. He never should have picked Lorelei. He should have stuck true to form and chosen some egotistical, coldhearted model too interested in her own career to even think about worming her way into his heart.

  It was too late now, though. He put down the picture and opened the writing program. He poured out all his frustration and malaise into the book, putting the characters through the same torment he himself was experiencing. His fingers flew and before he knew it two hours had passed and he’d written an entire chapter. One more to go, the resolution, and happy ever after, because Marcus had insisted it had to have a happy ever after ending. The ending his brother had so cruelly been denied. At least Marcus had had four happy years with Crescy.

  The problem was Liam couldn’t work out how he was going to give the fictional couple happiness when his own situation was so bleak. He leaned back in the chair, staring at the blinking cursor that taunted him with his inability to write his way out of the mess of his own life.

  There was no hope, no future for him and Lorelei. Even if all the deceit and treachery could be forgiven, she wanted children, tons of them by the sound of it. And to be honest, he couldn’t imagine her without them. To see himself as a father, however, was too much for his programming to compute. Lorelei had probably worked that out herself as well. Which was why they had parted so distantly tonight.

  So, the big question was, should he see her again or just let the flame burn out? He had a trip to China he needed to make; he’d been putting it off but he could go as early as next week. That would give them the distance needed to cool off. Of course, he’d mentally promised Lorelei a trip to Antigua. She and Mandy could go there while he was in China and by the time both returned to San Francisco they’d be ready to get on with the rest of their lives, their separate lives.

  Lorelei didn’t need to know about the book or his cracking the dating site. The writing was so dreadful it would never be published anyway. Marcus had completely overestimated Liam’s ability to write a book based on a few fake dates, although the emotion had been real. Too real.

  Liam stretched and wandered into the sitting room. He stared out the floor-to-ceiling window at the lights of the Bay Area. His gut wrenched in knots and his chest hurt when he tried to take a deep breath. Was this how it was going to be whenever he thought of Lorelei?

  He shook his head. Get back to work. Delving into cyberspace had always been a panacea for him growing up. It had to work now. He would retreat back to his world where emotions were displayed with colons, brackets, and other seldom used punctuation.

  Before he was halfway back to the computer, there was a tentative knock on his door. He hesitated for a minute, glancing at the clock. It was almost midnight. David was still in DC, although he was scheduled to come back tomorrow. Was it Helen with a problem? He really didn’t want to sit around chatting with her. She always gazed at him like the sun shone out of his ass. But if his best friend’s sister needed something, he’d better help.

  With a weary sigh he opened the door, expecting to see the stringy blond hair of his next-door neighbor. Instead, Lorelei stood there, her brown hair tumbling around her shoulders. She was wearing a trench coat, black stockings, and high heels, and by the way she was clutching the lapels together he guessed not a heck of a lot more. His pulse rate soared and all his reasoning of the last hour about ending things with her now fled out the open door.

  “Lorelei.” His breath seemed to catch on her name and he cleared his throat, ready to ask what she wanted.

  “Can I come in?” She peered past him, probably wondering if he had a house full like last time she’d come unannounced.

  “Yes, sorry. I wasn’t expecting you.” His brain seemed to be shutting down. Any second now and the blue screen of death would appear in his eyes.

  He stepped aside and she strode past. A whiff of her sultry scent wafted over him, further confusing his already-muddled mind. She stopped when she came to one of the sofas, and perching her bottom on the back, raised her eyes to his.

  “So, I was wondering, earlier today, when you were carrying me up to your room, did you want to make love to me or were you just getting some exercise?” She let go of her lapels and leaned back on the sofa, her arms either side of her body. Her coat gapped in the middle and from where he stood frozen by the door, he caught sight of a trace of black lace.

  “It was definitely the first thing you said.” Belatedly he closed the door and walked halfway into the room. Mesmerized, his eyes focused on Lorelei’s shaking hands as they undid the belt around her waist.

  “I thought as much. And then I thought, your mother has screwed up enough of your life. I wasn’t going to let her ruin mine. So, as she interrupted us this afternoon, I thought I’d simply restart the afternoon in another location. Excuse me for a minute.” She sauntered toward the side door to the communal hallway, passing close to him but not touching. Pulling out a card from her bag, she opened the door a fraction before slipping something on the outside handle before locking it again. Turning, she leaned against the door and let her jacket slip off her shoulders to pool by her feet.

  Liam’s eyes were sending rapid-fire signals to his brain, which was sending back error messages. Lorelei stood against the door, wearing a black lace teddy, stockings, and high heels. And that was it. Except, of course, for the hesitant smile she was trying hard to maintain.

  “Please tell me you didn’t come here by bus wearing that?”

  “No, I took a taxi. Thankfully the driver was about ninety-five, he could barely see the steering wheel, and wasn’t paying any attention to me.” She took a step toward him. “Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted this afternoon?”

  …

  Lorelei’s heart pounded so hard she thought she might black out. Two steps closer and she could feel the heat radiating off his body; the musky smell of his aftershave tickled her nostrils. If he didn’t stop staring and take her in his arms soon, she’d die of embarrassment.

  This whole stupid seduction thing had been Mandy’s idea. When she’d called her friend after Liam dropped her off, Mandy asked what she wanted. If she knew what she wanted and didn’t go and do something about it, then she deserved to sit at home alone moping. So Lorelei put on her most provocative lingerie and called a cab before her common sense kicked in.

  Licking her lips, she tried to think what her next move should be, when Liam closed the distance between them in one lunge. He pulled her against him, one large hand splayed against her spine, the other in her hair, dragging her mouth up to meet his. If she’d wondered on the way over whether he wanted her or not, that first kiss obliterated any lingering doubt. Liam ravaged her mouth, his tongue dueling with hers. When she thought she might explode from the overload of sensations, he released her lips and kissed his way over to her ear. Beneath her hand on his chest, his heart thudded. His breathing was rapid and she could feel his arousal against her stomach.

  “What did you put on the door?” His breath was hot against her ear.
r />   A shiver raced through her, or maybe it was an electric shock because she sure as heck wasn’t cold. “What?” Her befuddled brain couldn’t comprehend the question.

  “You put something on the outside of the door. What was it?” With his lips he traced a flaming path down her neck to her collarbone and back up to nibble on her earlobe again.

  “Oh, it was a Do Not Disturb sign. You told me David and Helen treat this like their second home. I didn’t want us to be interrupted again. I stole it from the Four Seasons.”

  He leaned back so he could observe her eyes. “Oh, really? Has the good girl who won’t jaywalk been lured over to the dark side?”

  She dropped her head and stared at his chest, but he put a finger under her chin and raised it so she was looking at him again.

  “No, I went back the next day and offered to pay for it.”

  Liam laughed. He kissed her again until her legs melted and it was only his arm on her back holding her up.

  “We should talk first. I need to tell you something,” he whispered into her ear. He pulled back and stared into her eyes. His own burned with passion, his pupils nearly dilated.

  “Mañana. We can talk tomorrow. Tonight I want to make love with you.”

  He hesitated a second, then he scooped her in his arms once again and strode toward the back of the apartment. He flung open the door and set her down gently next to the bed. Bending over, he pressed a button on the wall. The fireplace across the room whooshed to life, bathing the room in a golden glow.

  When he straightened, she reached up and began unbuttoning his shirt. Her fingers felt fat and she had to bite her lip to concentrate on the task at hand. Would he mind if she ripped it off him? He seemed impatient for her touch on his skin and lifted the shirt over his head. She drank in the sight of his muscled chest a minute before running her fingers through the mat of hair between his pecs. The muscles leaped under her touch and she slid her hands down his clenched abs until they rested on his belt.