Played by the Billionaire Page 7

  The restaurant was charming, the serving staff attentive yet discreet, and the food as good as Jason described. A Californian take on Middle Eastern–inspired dishes, it was innovative and delicious at the same time. He was pleased when Lorelei ordered a full meal, even trying some of the items he’d ordered. Used to models and their picky eating, it was refreshing to find a real woman who could appreciate food.

  She stirred a cube of sugar into her Turkish coffee, seeming distracted by something.

  “Liam? Can I ask a personal question? You don’t have to answer,” she added quickly.

  “I guess that depends on the question.” He put his cup down. His stomach knotted as he waited to hear what was on her mind. Personal questions were a minefield. It had been a fun day; he’d rather it didn’t end with an explosion.

  “Now that you have a good idea of who your father is, are you going to contact him?” She stared at her cup, raising her eyes to his at the last word.

  Any other woman and he’d have given her a sharp answer to mind her own business.

  “No. He’s never shown any interest in me. Why should I contact him now? I don’t need him.”

  “Maybe he never knew of your existence.”

  “Oh, he knows about me all right. When my mother told him she was pregnant he offered to pay for an abortion. She kept me in the hopes he’d change his mind and marry her, but he didn’t. And after I was born she sued him for paternity and got an out-of-court settlement, provided she sign a confidentiality agreement never divulging his name, even to me. That’s all I know, courtesy of my grandmother, who said my mother should have taken the first offer.”

  “But—”

  “It’s not open to discussion, Lorelei. I appreciate your concern, but I’ve survived without a father so far. I think I can get by the next fifty years without one as well.”

  Should he ask whether she was going to see her father once he was released from prison? If her mother was still in love with the guy, chances were he’d be back in her life anyway.

  “Okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.” She returned to stirring her coffee.

  “You haven’t offended. It’s…well…it’s taken a lot of time to distance myself from my past. I don’t want to open that door and let it all flood back in and swamp me again.”

  “Well, I hope one day you can let the gates open slowly so you don’t have it all so dammed up behind walls of reserve.” She put a hand out and covered his on the table. Her touch, so gentle and comforting, was the most genuine emotion he’d experienced in as long as he could remember. The now-familiar tightness in his chest increased as his heartbeat went into double time. He wanted to pull his hand away but couldn’t. It felt too good.

  For the first time he thought of forgetting his promise to Marcus and getting out while he still could.

  He paid for dinner and then drove Lorelei back to her apartment. She was quiet beside him, her fingers fiddling with her handbag, and his brain was too busy trying to convince his body that he should say good night and never see her again, that he couldn’t think of anything to say.

  Lorelei deserved more than him. She deserved an honest, trustworthy man who would marry her and give her lots of babies. Not some bastard who was wasting her time just to get some romantic experience for a book he didn’t even want to write.

  “Thanks for today. I had a great time,” she said as he pulled up in front of her apartment. “Would you like to come up for a coffee or something?”

  “I think we both know it’s too soon and I don’t trust myself. But I would like to see you again. Can I call you?”

  “Of course.” She dug in her bag and pulled out her business card.

  She handed it to him and he held her gaze as he kissed each of her fingers. A soft glow infused her face and he had to force himself to stop there. Lorelei was pure temptation. And he was becoming addicted.

  Chapter Seven

  “You’re going out, again?” David had his arms crossed and looked like a petulant child denied a favorite toy.

  “Didn’t know I had to clear it with you first,” Liam said. “Besides, it’s been a week since I last saw Lorelei.”

  “Yeah, but you were away on business all week so we haven’t had a chance to hang out. I thought Cal was running the company while you wrote your book.”

  “Something came up Cal couldn’t handle. I’d love to discuss it with you, but it’s classified. And thanks for your concern on the book. I got four chapters written while I was away.” What he’d written was garbage, but every time he’d thought of quitting, Marcus’s face would haunt him and he’d type some more.

  “You only got back this morning. I thought we’d go see the new James Bond film tonight. Remember what they say, man, bros before—”

  “Don’t even finish that sentence.” Liam shook his head. “What are you, a jealous girlfriend? Why don’t you go out and get yourself a woman? Then you won’t have to hang around here all the time.”

  “Yeah, like I can just pick up a woman at a bar. I’m not you.”

  “Feel free to get off my sofa and use some of the gym equipment in the next room. The number for my personal trainer is on the corkboard in there. I’m sure he can help you.”

  “Whatever,” David said. “So this is your third date. Got protection with you?”

  “What?” Liam paused in putting on his jacket.

  “Third date, it’s when a guy gets laid, everyone knows that. You packing?”

  “For your information I usually get laid on the first date. This thing with Lorelei is different. It’s research. I have no plans to sleep with her.”

  Liam caught a glimpse of himself in the hall mirror and turned away. Even after a week he still wasn’t used to his new appearance. At least his skin tone had evened out and he didn’t need to either go unshaven or wear the dreaded makeup. And now that he knew how closely he resembled his alleged father, he wasn’t too enamored with the face that stared back at him.

  He wondered what other traits of his father’s he’d inherited. Despite telling Lorelei he wanted nothing to do with his dad, he’d found himself doing a little investigating. If the gossip magazines were anything to go by, his mother wasn’t the only one to have fallen for Michael Donnelly’s charms. There was a string of broken hearts that could circle the globe. His alleged father was a class-A bastard and Liam had no intention of contacting him.

  “You’re not going to sleep with her? Why the hell not?”

  Liam had forgotten David was still in the room.

  “Because she’s a nice girl and I don’t want to screw her up. She’s already going to be pissed when and if she finds out what I’m up to. I don’t want to damage her.” God, he hoped he could stick to his no-sex rule. Every night the past week when he’d gone to bed he’d imagined Lorelei there next him.

  He grabbed a handful of peanut M&M’s and headed out the door.

  …

  Lorelei stared at the clock on her mantel, watching the second hand tick off the minutes until Liam showed up. It had been a long week without seeing him. When he’d called on Sunday morning to say he had to go out of town on business, she’d been deflated, sure she’d never hear from him again.

  On the plus side of the week, a major donation had come in and the fundraising gala now had a fifty-fifty chance of succeeding. Dustin was claiming all the credit for it, but even he seemed mystified as to its source. There was still a lot to do, but she was feeling more confident. Now she could put work worries behind her and concentrate on Liam.

  The door buzzer blared through the minuscule space, making her jump even though she was expecting it. She wiped damp palms down her skirt and cleared her throat, twice, before pressing the intercom button.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, it’s Liam,” he said unnecessarily. His deep, silky voice had played over and over in her head all week. She was sure she’d recognize it years from now. Hearing him again released a swarm of butterflies in her stomach.
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  “Come on up. I’m in apartment twenty-nine on the second floor. Turn left out of the elevator.” She pressed the open door button and waited.

  Lorelei so wanted to open the door and stick her head out and watch him exit the elevator, but forced herself to stay inside. Checking her makeup again in the mirror by the door, she pursed her lips and air-kissed her reflection. Mandy had convinced her to buy a more dramatic shade of lipstick, and she was amazed at how luscious it made her lips appear. Lips she hoped would soon tempt Liam. She jumped again when he knocked on the door. “Head, heart, then body,” she repeated under her breath.

  Taking two deep breaths to try to calm her thudding heart, she opened the door. He stood in the hallway, a leather jacket hooked on one finger and flung over his shoulder. A cream button-down shirt and dark-brown pants completed his outfit. His eyes raked her up and down and she was sure he could see her heart pounding in her chest.

  “Hi.” The word came out as a squeak.

  “You look good enough to eat,” he said. His voice was husky, as though he too was battling a raging inferno inside him.

  Lorelei stepped back to allow him to enter, and as soon as the door closed behind him she leaned forward and put her hands on his chest. He dropped his jacket on the floor and put his arms around her. Without waiting for him to decide whether he was going to kiss her or not, she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. The hands at her waist tightened and he pulled her closer. She slid her hands up his chest and around the back of his head, threading her fingers through his thick hair.

  She dragged in a deep breath before she passed out from the myriad sensations that were bombarding her brain. His spicy aftershave tingled her nostrils, sending shivers coursing through her body. A simple kiss had never affected her so deeply. When his tongue slipped into her mouth she thought she’d faint from the heat it was generating inside her.

  One of his hands slid lower, cupping her bottom. He pulled her up and into him and she could feel his arousal press against her. She tried to drag in another breath, but her throat was thick. Wrenching her mouth from his, she tried again to get a breath. Her chest tightened and she couldn’t fill her lungs.

  Liam’s lips were trailing kisses down her neck and shoulder, leaving a path of tingling flesh. She tried to swallow to ease the constriction in her throat—it wouldn’t go away. Her tongue began to swell and black spots swam before her eyes. Either Liam was one hell of a kisser or she was having an anaphylactic reaction. She struggled in his arms and he pulled back. His chest was heaving in time with hers, but at least he seemed able to breathe.

  “Can’t breathe,” she managed to gasp out. Panic surged within her. She pulled out of his arms and stumbled to the kitchen.

  “Lorelei, what’s happening? What’s wrong?” Liam’s voice sounded far away. The black dots were converging and she could feel herself begin to lose consciousness. She struggled to take another breath. The rasping sound from her chest terrified her.

  “EpiPen, bag.” She slumped to the floor so when she did pass out she wouldn’t have so far to fall. As if from a long distance, she could hear Liam dump out the bag she’d left on the counter.

  He rushed back to her side with her EpiPen in hand. “Where? Where do I inject it?”

  She touched her outer thigh and felt the stab of the needle piercing her skin.

  “Stay with me, sweetheart. Stay with me.”

  The medicine flooded through her body, and her first tentative breath was quickly followed by several more, each becoming easier. Liam left her side for a second before returning with his phone clutched to his ear. She could hear him giving her address and imploring someone to hurry.

  “The ambulance will be here in a minute. What do you need? How can I help?” He reached for her hand and took her pulse, seeming slightly relieved it was beating strongly.

  “I’m okay now,” she said as she tried to sit up.

  “No. Stay there.” He pressed her back onto the floor but kept hold of her hand, rubbing the back of it with his other one.

  The fog was beginning to lift from her brain. This wasn’t how she’d imagined the evening going. In any scenario where they ended up on the floor of her kitchen, there were far fewer clothes involved.

  …

  Liam strode through the doors of the emergency department and searched for Lorelei or the paramedics who had brought her there. The medicinal hospital smell assailed his nostrils. His throat ached as he thought of all the times he’d been there to visit Marcus. Being back in the hospital where his brother spent his last days made his stomach clench, and a burning inferno invaded his gut.

  He set aside thoughts of Marcus and focused on the reason for his current visit. Years of suppressing his emotions came to his aid, and he approached the nurse’s desk. The harried health care worker did a double take as he loomed above her.

  “I’m looking for Lorelei Torres. She was just brought in by ambulance.”

  The nurse checked her board. “The doctor is with her now. Take a seat, and I’ll ask him to speak with you as soon as he’s done.” She gestured toward a seating area swamped with people in varying states of distress.

  He wanted to demand to see Lorelei immediately, to assure himself she was okay, but the glare the nurse gave him withered the words on his tongue. It would be better to let the doctors do their work; his job was to comfort and support Lorelei.

  As he stood next to a vending machine, he thought back to the dramatic turn of the evening’s events. He was overwhelmed by his reaction when Lorelei opened her apartment door. She looked so beautiful, and the radiant smile on her face had made him feel as though he’d come home. He’d never been so exhilarated to see someone, and so at peace with himself. Then she’d put her hands on his chest and her lips on his, and all his arguments about not letting the relationship get physical evaporated in an instant. Her soft lips and sweet taste had done more than elicit a physical response; a wall of restraint had begun to crumble as well. It terrified and thrilled him at the same time.

  “Are you here for Lorelei Torres?”

  Liam cast his eyes up to see a young med student standing in front of him.

  “Yes, can I see her now?” He followed the white-coat-clad man into a curtained area behind the nurse’s desk. Lorelei was sitting up in the bed, an oxygen mask on her face. His chest constricted and his breathing became shallow, as if he were now struggling to get air.

  He moved to her side and took her small hand in his. She was so tiny, so fragile.

  “How is she?” Liam asked the med student, who was reviewing her chart.

  “She’s doing better. We’ve run some tests and are waiting on the results. She’s comfortable and her blood oxygen level is at normal. We’ll keep her here for observation for a while, then she can go home unless the test results come back with some surprise. She seems to have experienced a severe allergic reaction. Miss Torres has indicated she’s allergic to peanuts but says she hasn’t consumed any. It may be worthwhile if she were tested for other potential allergens.”

  “I ate some peanuts about half an hour before we met. Then we kissed,” Liam said.

  “That would do it,” the doctor said.

  “I didn’t know…”

  Lorelei pulled the mask away from her face. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t tell you. I had a reaction once when I was very young, three or four years old, I don’t remember it. Having the EpiPen is more of a habit. I don’t even take it with me half the time. I’m sorry I’ve ruined our evening.”

  “That doesn’t matter. All that’s important is you’re okay.”

  “Well, you may want to reconsider eating peanuts if you will be having close contact with Miss Torres in the future,” the doctor said. He wrote a note in the chart and hung it back on the end of the bed. “I’ll be back when the test results come in,” he said before pulling aside the curtain and leaving.

  “Really, Liam. It’s not your fault. Stop looking so worried. I’m fine,” Lo
relei said as he sat on the edge of her bed, holding her hand.

  “Liam? I thought I heard your voice.” Another doctor appeared through a gap in the curtain. “What brings you back?”

  Liam stood at the doctor’s entrance. “Dr. Tanner. How are you? I’m here with a friend, Lorelei.” Turning to her he said, “Dr. Tanner treated my brother, Marcus, numerous times.”

  “I wanted to thank you personally—”

  “No need, Doctor. No need. Are you working the ER?” The last thing Liam needed tonight was for Lorelei to discover his wealth. Because he was pretty certain regular guys didn’t buy heart-lung machines for hospitals.

  “No, but one of my patients was recently brought in by ambulance.” The doctor’s eyes flickered between the two of them. “Well, it’s good to see you. I’ll let you get on.”

  The doctor closed the curtain again and Liam turned back to Lorelei, although he couldn’t force his eyes to meet hers. Guilt burned at the back of his throat.

  “I remember you mentioning your brother when we first met, said he was a writer. Is he okay now?” Lorelei asked, her hand reaching for his.

  Liam swallowed before responding. “Marcus died last month. He had a heart defect and although he was on the heart donor list for years he had such a rare blood type no heart became available before he died.”

  She squeezed his hand in silent support. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Were you close with your brother?”

  “He was everything to me. I’d have given him my heart if I was a compatible match.”

  He closed his eyes and Marcus’s pleading face appeared before him. “Finish my book, please. It has to be you, only you.” Liam hadn’t been able to deny the entreaty and his botched attempt to fulfill his brother’s last request had led him here. Back where he’d started.

  When he dared peek at Lorelei’s face, silent tears were coursing down her cheeks. Was living up to the promise he’d made to his brother worth hurting this woman further? If he had to choose between Marcus and Lorelei, he wasn’t sure which way he’d go.

  Chapter Eight