Merger to Marriage (Boardrooms and Billi - By Addison Fox Page 0,26
good idea. Puts points in the ‘Holt’s not quite a heartless bastard’ column.”
“This is insane. People don’t do business deals because someone has a family or not. What is this, some fifties soap opera?”
“That thought did cross my mind more than once during our conversation. Along with another one.”
She watched Holt across the small enclave. A light breeze ruffled his hair and lifted the collar of his dress shirt. He had his hands in his pockets, but she could see the tanned skin of his forearms before they disappeared into the rolled-up cuffs of his sleeves. He was a man who radiated strength and power. Even in a pose so deceptively casual, she saw his innate strength. “What’s that?”
“Maybe he has a point.”
“A point about what?” She asked the question, even as she already knew the answer.
“You need a husband. He thinks I need a wife. It works.”
“I don’t need a husband. And I’m not marrying a man so he can close a business deal.” She heard the snap in her words and wouldn’t be sorry for it. While she might not harbor deep, everlasting feelings for Holt, she also wasn’t beyond being insulted at the idea of being used for her family connections.
“If it were just about the deal, I’d agree with you. But we are having a baby and that’s someone else to consider. Marry me and we can raise our child together.”
A crazy sort of madness leaped up and gripped her, tightening around her throat like a noose. Part suffocating, part intriguing, it was as if his words took root and immediately sprouted a future in her mind’s eye. “I can’t marry you. I don’t even know you.”
“People get married for plenty of other reasons, ones that aren’t in the interest of an innocent child.”
“How are we protecting our child’s interests by marrying? We don’t love each other. I’d rather he or she knew they had parents who were vibrant, interesting individuals instead of two people who’d married only for propriety’s sake.”
“We’d make a life.” He walked toward her in the moonlight and she couldn’t stop the light shiver of awareness that floated down her spine.
“What you’re suggesting is a merger, a blending of interests, not a marriage. We don’t even know each other.”
“We know this.” Without giving her time to step away, Holt moved in and pulled her against his chest in a tight embrace. Any thought of resistance faded in the brief moment it took him to close the gap between them and she wrapped her arms around his neck, a full participant in the kiss. His lips were gentle, yet firm against hers, and she allowed him to take the kiss deeper, tangling her tongue with his. Desire struck—swift and sure—as the sensual moments spun out between them.
He trailed his hands over the skin exposed at her back, his fingers tracing the ridges of her spine. The shivers of anticipation that had gripped her morphed into shivers of need as his broad chest pressed to hers. Her hands gripped his waist and she fumbled with the material of his shirt, suddenly desperate to feel the warmth of his skin.
She marveled at how easily her body recognized his. It had been just like this that night at the wedding. Like she’d come home.
She wanted him.
And with his suggestion of marriage, she could have him. But was that how she wanted to map out her future? Her impulsiveness had already led to a baby. She couldn’t afford to make another mistake, especially since her child now had to be forefront in her thoughts.
Chapter Six
Holt shifted his hold on her so that his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. The kiss rapidly spiraled out of control, a battle of both passion and will neither one of them could break.
She pulled away from him, her eyes wide in the moonlight. “Was that supposed to convince me?”
“Doesn’t it?” His body throbbed with unfulfilled need, but he instinctively knew whatever they said next would have a major impact on how they moved forward. “We’re good together. We work together.”
“How many times do I have to say it, we don’t know each other. A few moments of madness don’t make a lifetime.”
On some level, he understood her hesitancy, but also couldn’t hide this overwhelming urge to protect her. “So we get to know each other. Understand each other’s interests and hobbies. Explore the madness a bit further.”
“What about our friends and families?”
“What about them?”
“Will we