The Deal (Trading Hearts #3) (2 page)

Am I really involved with that gorgeous man?

Glued to the spot, she could only stare.

Then he turned fully to his audience, and clocked her.

Naomi turned on her heel, hurrying toward the reception, and beyond toward the elevator. It was a stolen glance, and yet it made her spirits soar.

Inside the elevator, she turned away from the other occupants and smiled at herself in the mirrored walls. It felt naughty, having seen him that way. He'd obviously picked a meeting room out of the way, and still she'd managed to spy him for a moment.

Her smile vanished when the elevator reached the ground floor and the doors opened. Amongst half a dozen people waiting to enter, was Clara, Lucas's ex.

Of course, she was here for Toby. Naomi filed out with the other occupants, intending to pass Clara by without comment.

"If it isn't my husband's tart."

Naomi bristled. "Ah, the ex wife," she countered. "Fancy seeing you here."

Clara flounced past her and into the elevator.

Naomi tried not to let her joy at seeing Lucas be crushed by Clara.  She waved her fingertips at Clara and smiled.

Clara rammed her hand on the elevator control panel.

The doors locked open. The other occupants in the lift looked at one another.

"I'm here to collect my son," she announced.

"He's a lovely boy," Naomi replied, unable to resist. "Takes after his Dad, obviously."

Clara glared at her, annoyance pouring out of her eyes. "I'm Lucas's wife," she declared, again. "I'm the mother of his child. Just you remember that."

Not only was she using her child as a pawn, she was hanging on to her marital status symbol for grim death. It grated on Naomi. And it had haunted her since they'd first encountered one another the week before, in Switzerland. Naomi had checked on the Internet though. Clara was his ex.  Had she used her erstwhile status to scare off other women?

Naomi forced a smile. "Congratulations on your divorce."

She didn’t wait for Clara to shut the doors on her, quickly turning on her heel she walked away. She heard the doors close and felt relief.

To think she thought she wasn't even going to see Lucas. She'd not only seen him, she'd seen his whole family.

Then she felt a hand on her arm.

It was Clara.

Chapter Three

Lucas looked away from his presentation in time to see Naomi staring at him through the glass wall of the board room.  Longing filled her eyes, and it called to him. Mid-sentence he halted, because he couldn't drag his attention away from the sight of her.

Her hair scrolled over one shoulder in a loose plait that ended on the curve of her breast. The fitted skirt and jacket she wore clung to her womanly outline. She was wide-eyed, her beautiful lips parted as if in surprise. Never had he seen her looking quite so ethereal. It mesmerized him. Lucas couldn't look away.

It was Naomi who broke the contact.

She disappeared quickly from his view.

I have to go after her.
They were due to meet that evening, but now he'd seen her he couldn’t wait to touch her. It'd been a week since they'd parted, and it seemed much, much longer. No Skype interaction would ever match up to holding her, tasting her – no matter how X-rated those Skype sessions had been – and they'd communicated that way every night.

Lucas quickly apologized to the
assembled group, a cost meeting for a client's advertising campaign. "Forgive me, there's something I need to deal with. I'm going to have to leave you to look over the figures without me."

It wasn't his usual
modus operandi
, but circumstances demanded he act.  He needed someone to step in and looked at the gathered personnel for a likely candidate.  Jack Hudson looked sharp and focused, and Lucas trusted him to be able to cope with the unexpected request. He'd called on Jack before at short notice, and he'd delivered the goods fast and without question. "Jack, can you run through the various advertising budgets on the next screen and explain to our client what the options represent?"

Jack was
on his feet in a flash 

As
Lucas left, he asked reception to call catering in early so they had refreshments while they worked through the financial aspects of the campaign. That would keep them busy for a while.

There was no sign of Naomi anywhere in the Eaglestone suite.

A quick glance at his watch informed him she'd completed her meeting with Georgio. Waiting impatiently for the elevator he considered how far she might have got, then the doors opened. Moments later he emerged on ground level reception and saw Naomi standing nearby, deep in conversation with Clara. 

Clara.
Lucas frowned.

Passers by were staring, not surprisingly. The two women were feet apart, facing off
like cats with their backs up, voices raised.

As he closed on them, he caught part of the conversation.

"You don't know the first thing about me," Naomi said, "you're in no position to speculate."

Naomi had her back to him, but his view of Clara was clear. She was livid. "I don’t need to speculate. You're clearly looking for a sugar daddy."

Lucas's blood hit boiling point in a flash.

"Don’t judge me on your standards, please. I'm here on business." Naomi gesticulated with her portfolio bag.

Lucas stepped between them. "Clara, Toby's late for school."

Clara glared at him, daggers in her eyes. She cursed loudly and headed back to the elevators.

Lucas turned his attention to Naomi, only to discover she'd taken off. 

Her heels clacked against the marble floor as she darted across reception toward the exit, her portfolio bag clutched against her side.

Astonished she was leaving, Lucas gave chase. As soon as he closed on her, he reached out and grasped her wrist, shackling her to him.

Naomi half turned, jerking to a halt.

Her flaming hair tossed, strands of it loosening from her plait. She looked back over her shoulder. Eyes rounded as if startled, the look she gave him was imploring. "Let me go, Lucas. I need to get out of here."

I love her. I don’t want to see her leave.
Subconsciously he'd known how deeply he cared for a while, but the thought of her walking away with hurt in her eyes turned him over inside. His grasp on her tightened.

She shook her head. "Safeword," she whispered.

Lucas froze, doubt clouding his mind.
Safeword?
The safeword they'd never established, because they hadn't needed it. Until now.

Instantly, he freed her.

She quickly turned away, but not before he saw the regret in her eyes. She walked away, determinedly, toward the exit.

Railing, he lurched after her. "Naomi!" he shouted. "Please don't do this." He didn't care who heard, who saw. Willing her to stop, he watched.

Her footsteps slowed. She didn't look back.

"Naomi, please!"

She drew to a halt.

His heart thundered. Never before had anything been as important as this – as to how he handled this. But he was lost, lost in his need for her. And he couldn’t even begin to know how to act until he saw her eyes. Groveling wasn't in his nature, but he'd do it for her.

When she turned around she was focused, stern almost.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that. Please, let me make it up to you." All week he'd craved her presence, her complexity, her pride, her lush feminine body under his. It was an addiction. Her submission was the deepest pleasure he'd ever known – she was the most precious thing he'd ever known. If he lost her now, he'd lose everything.

"You were in a meeting. You don't have time to deal with this."

"Is that why you were leaving? Because I have all the time in the world for you, meeting or no meeting." It was the truth. He used to be strict about devoting his attention to the main event, and work came first. Naomi was his main event now.

She nodded her head then looked past him, toward the elevators. "You have unfinished business with that woman."

He could feel her pulling away, and it tore him apart. "The only business I have with Clara is agreeing my time with Toby."

Her beautiful mouth pursed. It made him want to kiss her.

She shook her head, avoiding direct eye contact by looking beyond him towards the elevators. "Perhaps it's too soon for you to be involved with anyone else."

How beautiful she looked with her chin lifted and defiance in her eyes. It made him want her all the more He hankered for her, a raw, primitive need rising in him. He was getting hard. He wanted to fuck her, right now, to show her how much he wanted her. It took a huge effort to remain rational, to handle this maturely. "Are you suggesting I'm on the rebound?" he asked. "Because that’s way off the mark, I assure you."

Her gaze focused on his chest, then wandered over his torso. "It's more about drawing a line."

Reciprocated desire was there in her eyes.

"The line was drawn long ago. The only reason she's here today is to collect Toby. He spent the night with me so she could attend a function." He could see her relinquishing the fight. She wanted to fuck too. 
He took a risk and stepped closer.

Her lips parted. "Lucas…"

It was a warning, and a plea. Need shone in her eyes, but she was ready to bolt.  He closed on her, his hands on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes.

He leaned in and spoke beneath his breath. "I want to be alone with you, right now. I need to be inside you."

Her pale skin flushed. She swallowed. "You said we'd meet tonight."

"Circumstances have altered the plan." He stroked her upper arm through her jacket. "Last night you told me you couldn't wait for this moment, when I touched you and claimed you for myself."

She wavered then whimpered, her eyelids fluttering down.

"I need to hold you, Naomi. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too, but…"

He looked deep into her eyes, savoring the surprise he found there. She was confused and angry, but arousal also shone in her eyes. Her lovely mouth was slightly open, and he couldn't resist kissing her.
To hell with the onlookers.

She moaned softly, but then relinquished, reaching to clutch at his lapels as he invaded her mouth, seeking its damp warmth while craving to invade every part of her. 

"Oh, Lucas," she murmured as he drew back. "What are you doing to me?"

Everything.
"This way."

He walked her toward the reception, one hand on her back reassuring her.

The risk of bumping into Clara coming down with Toby challenged him. He nodded at the security guard on duty at the reception area. It was a man he knew well. "Craig, can I use your office for a few minutes?"

"Of course." The security guard looked surprised, but stood and directed them to the doorway, lifting his hat to Naomi as she passed.

He nodded at Craig. "I don’t want anyone to disturb us."

Craig nodded. "Got it."

"Five minutes."

"As long as you need, Mr. Eaglestone."

Lucas closed the door.

The l
onging he saw in Naomi's expression unleashed him. Closing the space between them in a heartbeat, he pulled her into his arms.

"Lucas!" It was a declaration, a warning, but her body told him other things. She wrapped her hands around the back of his head, her fingers meshing in his hair, her mouth opening even as he moved to kiss her. She arched against him, her body rocking against his.

His blood rushed, his erection rock hard.

While he kissed her, he undid the buttons of her shirt, revealing her cleavage, his fingers tugging at the lacy edge of her black bra. He ducked his head, cupped his hands around the curve of her bra cups and kissed the dip of her cleavage, inhaling the familiar mix of her favored scent and the smell of the skin.

"Lucas," she protested again, but her hands moved inside his jacket to latch over his belt. "You were in a meeting. You don't have time for this right now."

"I don't have the time or inclination for anything else but this. You've changed me Naomi."

She looked surprised by that. "You've changed me," she responded.

“I've missed you."

She nodded.

That was consent enough. He wrenched her skirt up around her hips, kissing her again while he grappled with her underwear. His cock throbbed. The sight of her had altered him, stealing his self control and turning him into a primal being. It would take nothing short of an imminent disaster to stop this from happening right now.

He was desperate to lose himself in her. With his fingers tangled in the skimpy elastic holding her g-string in place, he tugged. Glancing down at her bared thighs he saw she was wearing a black satin garter belt with her stockings. Cursing under his breath, he moved enough to free her panties and pushed them down her legs.