The Billionaire's Masquerade Page 0,11

whispered.

His deep chuckle caught her attention. “It’s never been a problem for me before.”

She smiled, but she couldn’t see the humor. She was too nervous with him this close. “Can I have my keys back?”

“I’m going to kiss you,” Emerson told her, wanting to warn her for some reason.

She bit her lip and looked at his chest, trying to decide if she wanted that or not. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she finally came back.

“Let’s find out, shall we?” he asked her, but it wasn’t really a question. His hands moved to her arms, pulling her closer while his mouth descended towards hers. Slowly. So painfully slowly.

She should pull back. Put a hand on his chest to push him away. She should simply step out of his arms and tell him ‘no’ in a very firm voice. But she did none of that. She waited, barely breathing, for his lips to touch hers. She shouldn’t, but she wanted his kiss like nothing she’d ever wanted before. And when his lips finally touched hers, she sighed with the release of her breath. With trembling hands, she reached up and touched his cheek, feeling the roughness of his day-old beard under her fingertips.

At twenty-five years old, she’d definitely been kissed before. But none of those weak, momentary caresses could compare to what she experienced when his mouth touched hers. It wasn’t so much a kiss as it was a lightning bolt of desire that shot through her whole body. She trembled even while she moved closer, begging him to deepen the kiss. And when he obliged, she whimpered with the need that stormed her body, making her knees almost give out on her. It was too intense, too hot and she was shocked, but she couldn’t pull away. She couldn’t do anything but experience this man’s kiss and savor the moment.

When he finally lifted his head, she opened her eyes and looked up at him, not sure what to say. It was almost as if words would be wrong at this point.

She looked around, startled to realize that the birds were still singing and the wind was still pushing the leaves to clap as they danced in the sunshine. What was she doing? She looked up and realized that her arms had wrapped around his neck and his own hands were spread out on her back, pressing her closer. Goodness! She stepped out of his arms, feeling disoriented and stunned by how a simple kiss could distract her so completely.

“Yes…well…um,” she had no idea what to do next. She felt small and silly, as awkward as a teenager. “I’d better go,” she said, but it was only a whisper. She cleared her throat, trying to gain a bit more poise. Plucking her keys out of his hand, she spun about and slipped into her car. It took her several tries to remember how to turn on the engine but finally her fingers fumbled on the button and the small rental car roared to life.

She was grateful when the man stepped back because she was so flustered, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to avoid hitting him. Thankfully, she finally had the car turned around and was able to press the accelerator, speeding down the driveway and away from the man who had flustered her more than she’d thought was possible.

Chapter 2

Rachel sat uncomfortably in the rough, wooden chair, wishing she were anywhere other than here. This bar was for locals and being outside of the local community, she stuck out like a sore thumb. Well, that and the fact that she was still dressed in her business suit and red heels while the rest of the people in the bar wore flannel shirts and jeans with work boots that looked infinitely more comfortable than her three inch heels, which she planned to immediately throw into the trash when this maddening day was finally over.

She had just one mission now. She needed to introduce herself to Emerson Watson. If she could do that, get her face into his memory, she could leave here and introduce herself through a letter or phone call at a later date. Obviously, showing up at his house wasn’t the right approach since the man was rarely there. Which was ironic. If she owned that house, she’d probably never leave!

Rachel still didn’t understand how he could get so much done when he rarely worked. If she could just talk to him, pick his brain a