His Indecent Proposal (4 page)

"I didn't say we were going to a
restaurant."

Jenna began seeing red from being manipulated
and anger came to the fore as belligerence took over. "Listen, Mr.
Bennett, the only reason I came tonight was for the food. If you're
not feeding me, you can take me home now."

David watched the bristling inferno in front
of him. Her breath was coming quickly in agitation, lifting her
breasts up and down as she dragged in oxygen. The red sweater was
stretched tightly over her chest, and David began to swell and
harden in his jeans. He had been semi-erect all through the drive
here. And now, the sight of her raging in front of him, had his
cock rigid and his control close to splintering. He forced himself
to check the testosterone fueling his blood.

"Calm down, sweetheart. I'm going to feed
you. My housekeeper made us a meal before she left. Come on." He
took her hand and pulled her behind him into the kitchen.

The kitchen was huge, yet cozy at the same
time. Jenna glanced around, seeing the warmth and vibrancy the room
generated. A wall of windows was the focal point, and the river
glistening in the distance was stunning to the eye. Granite
countertops wrapped around the kitchen, complimenting the pedestal
style cabinets underneath. She sat at a huge island in the middle
of the room on a wrought-iron barstool, and swiveled it a bit so
she could watch him as he quickly warmed two plates in the
microwave, and opened a bottle of wine.

Within minutes, he was sitting across from
her, lightly touching his wine glass to hers before putting it to
his chiseled lips and taking a drink. Jenna felt the scorch from
his eyes as his gaze held hers. She lifted the glass to her lips
and took a small sip.

The wine was good, but she needed to be
careful. Wine went to her head
from zero to sixty
, and she
was already in a predicament she didn't know how to handle.

He picked up his fork and dug into the flaky
salmon and wild rice. Jenna followed suit. The food was perfect,
and she tried with all her might to enjoy the sensations on her
taste buds. Tomorrow, she would be back to eating ramen noodles and
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

They didn't speak while they ate, and after
one aborted attempt at conversation, Jenna quit trying and
concentrated on the ambrosia hitting her palate.

Supper was over too soon.

David tossed the plates and silverware into
the dishwasher, grabbed his glass and the bottle of wine and walked
over to the door and waited for her to follow him.

Slowly and with great hesitation, Jenna slid
off the barstool, retrieved her glass, and moved to the doorway.
They had come to the part of the night she had been dreading. It
was time to pay for her meal by listening to his spiel.

They sat in the living room, the wine on the
coffee table in front of them, and Jenna scrunched herself in the
corner of the couch and prepared herself for the inevitable.

David swirled the wine in his glass and
studied her for a moment. "You need to know something." He took a
quick sip, and deposited his glass on the coffee table. "No matter
how this turns out, even if you don't accept my proposition, your
job is safe. You don't need to worry about that. I'm warning you up
front, I'm about to turn on the screws and try to get you to agree,
but if you don't, in the end, everything will be the same for you.
I'll find someone else for the deal, and you go back to accounting.
Got that?"

Feelings were banging around inside Jenna.
Turn on the screws
was panicking her and she was shocked to
feel an arrow of disappointment when he said he would
find
someone else
, but she managed to nod her head, her eyes
fastened to his as he continued.

"This is the way I see it playing out. We get
married immediately in a civil ceremony with only the required
witnesses. There will be a lot of questions at the speed of things,
and we're going to pass it off as a secret love affair that's been
going on for months that we hushed up because of our different
positions in the company."

Jenna held herself in a stiffened, rebellious
position in the corner of the couch. Denial pulsed from her body.
"Nobody will buy that."

His eyes ran over her length, scanning her
eyes, her lips, then dropping to the full curve of her breasts. He
was jolted by another shaft of arousal as his gaze fastened on her
lips again. His mouth hardened and his voice hissed out.
"Everybody
will buy that."

Her eyes flared, but she didn't say another
word and waited for him to continue.

"I'll deposit a hundred grand in the account
of your choice. You get the other half when the first year is up.
You'll move in here with me, and I'll cover all your personal bills
for the duration of the marriage. You'll get a credit card and a
monthly allowance." He stopped talking and waited for the count of
three beats. "But you have to give up the job, and you can't get a
different one. I need a wife for the whole family values scenario,
and the relationship needs to look as traditional as we can make
it. That includes you staying home and playing the part of my
devoted wife. If you get bored, you can find a charity you're
interested in and spend your daytime hours volunteering. Whatever
you want to do. I don't really care. As long as you're not out
partying without me, your time is your own."

Jenna studied him and found herself actually
thinking about the possibilities. One major question ate at her.
"Why?" Her eyes searched his. "Why do you need a wife so badly? Why
now?"

"Nothing nefarious. I don't want to get into
it with you before you agree, but it's enough for you to know it's
office politics. Nothing more. Nothing less."

Jenna wanted to take the deal and run with it
so badly she couldn't believe it. She needed the money.
Desperately. It was almost as good as winning the lotto.
Or as
bad as signing up to be the devil's
wife.
She needed
time to think it through. Could she live with a guy she didn't
know? How could she marry a guy she had no reason to trust?
And
what about. . .
"What about s-sex?" She blushed red after the
question popped from her mouth.

His dark eyes tangled with hers and his
nostrils flared. "The sex will be good, sweetheart."

Her pulse went spinning and butterflies
quivered in her stomach. Her mouth ran dry and she clenched her
hands together in agitation. She was no virgin. She was twenty-five
years old and had been in several relationships before. But this
guy was--this guy was on a different level. That's why his dark
appraisals had always intimidated her.

There was something about the idea of putting
herself out there, giving her body over to him that basically
scared her shitless. No doubt the sex
would
be good, and a
shaft of desire tightened her nipples and shot through her, making
her thighs tremble. But she didn't think she could do it,
she
didn't know him
and didn't think she could surrender to a man
of his caliber so quickly. And she knew it would be quick. Already,
his cheeks were streaked with a flush of arousal, his nostrils were
flaring, and there was a tic in his cheek that spelled out his
tension.

He might be presenting this as a business
arrangement, but as she sat back on the couch under his intense
sexual scrutiny, it all flashed in front of her how she had played
into his hands.

If she was being honest with herself, she
knew he had wanted her for months, and never made a move on her
because of the employer/employee relationship. She saw that now.
She had probably seen it all along and shied away from even
thinking about it. All of those piercing looks in her direction.
And the minute she had piped up and given him an opening, he was
ruthlessly taking it. Sure, he probably needed a wife. But why not
get one he wanted to sleep with in the bargain?

Jenna sucked in a much needed breath. She
wanted to fist her hands in her hair and scream for time to think,
time away from him. Her mind was racing with indecision. She was
about to ask him for that much needed time when he interrupted her
thoughts with more turmoil.

"You understand that sex has to be part of
the deal, right? This arrangement for lack of a better word, needs
to last for a couple of years, and the board of directors will be
watching my every move." He reached out and picked up a lock of her
hair, rubbed it between his fingers and devoured her with his eyes.
"That's the reason I've chosen you."
His voice deepened. "I
get a hard-on every time I see you. It's been that way for months.
If I have to limit myself to one woman for a couple of years, I'd
like it to be someone like you." He paused and ran his eyes over
her again. "Someone exactly like you."

Jenna's heartbeat accelerated and went wild.
Blood pushed through her veins and filled her with excitement.
Having her suspicions confirmed enhanced the arousal beating
through her. His words were like magic, controlling her, seducing
her into accepting his crazy proposal.

But still, she knew it was wrong. Two people
shouldn't marry with the intent to divorce. And never for money.
But God, she was tempted. She was probably going to go to hell, she
was so tempted. She could pay off her debt, live in the lap of
luxury, and get to sleep with him every night? The chemistry
sizzled between them as they studied each other. She imagined the
sex would be great. So,
where
exactly was the downside?

Her brain fought her body. She tried to come
up with a reason to tell him to forget it. Maybe she was wrong and
he'd be horrible in bed?
Right, Jenna
. But still, a girl
should be careful. She needed to know. She needed something to go
on to know if they would be sexually compatible. She thought they
would be, but wanted more tangible proof. She didn't want to just
outright have sex with him, in case this ultimately didn't work
out, and he found someone else. It would be too uncomfortable at
work if that happened. She studied him, studied the lines of his
mouth. "Can I--can I k-kiss you?"

David heard the unexpected, hesitant question
and lust hit his groin in a punch so hard he had to drag in a
breath.
She wanted to try him out?
"Yeah." It was all he
could get out. He steeled himself to stay still and let
her
kiss
him
. Blood pumped through him.

Slowly, carefully, Jenna lifted herself and
moved beside him, moving to her knees and leaning into his side. He
wrapped a steely arm around her waist to help balance her.
Immediately, she was swamped with hot, fierce, sexual desire. The
feel of his muscular arm wrapped around her was exquisite. She
sucked in a breath, caught her bottom lip between her teeth and
studied his mouth, wondering how she should start, trying to calm
the heart that was trying to beat out of her chest. His fingers bit
into her side, rubbing the indentation of her waist, and then
moving to her butt and squeezing. Her breathing went haywire and
she hadn't even touched his lips yet.

She waited too long and he spoke. "Are you
scared?"

"No."

"So what's the problem?"

"There's n-no problem."

"Baby, if you don't kiss me now, I'm going to
have to help you out. Make up your mind."

Jenna felt the smooth vibration of his voice
slide down her spine in an agony of arousal. She wanted to rock
herself against him so badly it was taking all her control not to.
She put her lips to the corner of his mouth and breathed in his
scent. It immediately went to her head like a shot of tequila. Her
mouth shook and she took a nip of his lips, moving them softly,
quivering against him. His body stiffened in restraint. She felt
his hard muscles tense at the same moment his arm tightened on her
so much it made breathing even more difficult.

She lifted her face away from his and licked
her lips softly, tasting him. His heavy-lidded gaze was narrowed on
her mouth as he took a shuddering breath. Slowly, she put her lips
back to his and delicately sucked his bottom lip. Without any
warning, his arms grabbed her and with no effort at all lifted her
in one motion until she was straddling him, her hands on his
shoulders, his lip still caught under her teeth. She moaned a soft
little sound and pushed the juncture of her thighs against him,
currents of delight rushing through her.

Sensation shot through David in waves of
pleasure that brought his cock to pulsating attention. Her breasts
were bouncing on his chest, her hot liquid warmth pushing against
his stomach in a way that brought a bead of sweat dripping down his
face.
And she hadn't given him her tongue yet.
Jesus Christ,
how was he going to handle it when he finally got her stripped
naked? It was going to go fast the first few times; he wouldn't be
able to control himself.

His hands clenched on her hips and he tried
to endure the temptation of the hottest little closed mouth kiss he
had ever experienced. He tried to summon control and knew he was
only seconds away from grabbing her and ramming his
goddamn
tongue down her throat. He tried to stop his hands from biting into
her flesh. He fought for breath. He fought for sanity. He fought
for control. Couldn't find it.
One second. Two seconds. Three
seconds. . .

Jenna gasped the moment his tongue pushed
into her mouth. His hands grabbed the back of her head, turning it
to the fit he wanted, and began kissing her with unguarded
lust.

Her belly tightened as all hell broke loose
and he took total control. His tongue plunged into her mouth,
retreated, plunged again. Shock and need cursed through her as she
hung in his grasp and received a kiss unlike any she had ever
experienced in her life. She was twenty-five years old, and she had
kissed many, many men. From the boys in junior high, to parties in
high school and college, clubbing with girlfriends and dating, she
had been kissed by a lot of guys. Never,
never
had she been
kissed like this. She'd read about it in romances, but never really
believed it happened until now. He was kissing her the way he would
have sex with her. His tongue stiff, inundating her mouth, plunging
it in and out the way he would plow in and out if he was having
intercourse. It was literally blowing her mind.