the plastic away. “You made these just for me?” he asked, taking the top cookie off and taking a bite. “I don’t think anyone has ever made me cookies before. That’s very sweet.” He leaned down and kissed her gently.
Lana accepted the kiss happily, relieved that she wasn’t really interrupting him. When he lifted his head, she looked up, seeing the anger behind his calm façade. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Victor looked down at her, seeing the genuine concern and his heart warmed. “Why do you think something is wrong?” he asked. It occurred to him that no other woman he’d dated had been able to see through his expressions so easily. And definitely no man. What was it about this woman that was so different, he asked himself, not for the first time. He looked at her drab tan, trench coat that still couldn’t hide the tiny waist and voluptuous breasts while soft brown wisps of hair floated around her shoulders. She was incredible, he thought to himself, munching on the chocolate chip cookie. And she even remembered his favorite type of dessert. No woman had bothered to get to know him, the real him. Several intimately knew his net worth and assets, but none had taken the time to find out about what was underneath. He was warmed by her caring.
Lana sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I guess I was just imagining things. You just look like you’ve lost a friend,” she explained.
Victor snatched another cookie and chewed it while taking in her caring. He’d never met anyone so perceptive. Most people thought of him as ice man, never revealing any of his emotions under any circumstances but this sweet woman with all of her gentle caring had understood something deep inside him.
“It’s nothing.” Lana watched him for a long moment, then sighed wearily. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. I’m sorry something isn’t working for you.”
Victor watched, wondering if he should talk to her. She looked defeated and he hated that he’d put that upon her. “Someone tried to attack one of my companies,” he finally explained. “He thought to attack me from behind.”
As he explained the stocks that had been slowly bought up and how Victor had discovered the impact, she was amazed once again at his intelligence, brilliance. Lana listened, astounded that he was revealing something about his business. She still had no idea what he did but it was another little peek into the man he kept so carefully hidden and she latched onto the information hungrily, eager to know more about him and what made him such a dynamic person. She looked up at him, reading that there was significantly more to the story than he was telling her. “It was a friend, wasn’t it?” she asked gently, her hand reaching up to touch his face.
Victor was stunned at her perceptiveness and tried to shrug it off. “Only an acquaintance.”
She knew it was more. “What happened?”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, then he finally said, “I destroyed him. But he won’t know about it until Monday when the stock exchanges open up.”
There was something hard and yet very vulnerable in the way he said that and her heart ached for him. He’d lost something tonight and it was more than just money. Something told her that he’d probably profited in this situation but he’d lost something more important. And he felt the pain of the situation more than he was willing to admit. “You’re a survivor, aren’t you?” she asked softly, her hands touching his chest gently.
Victor pulled her into his arms, not answering the question. “So are you.”
Lana smiled at his compliment but knew it wasn’t true. “Thank you for saying so but I don’t think I survive quite as easily as you do.”
He shook his head. “I disagree. You survive in a way that is comfortable for you,” he said, leaning down and kissing her neck, breathing in her fresh scent, the orange blossoms blooming in her hair and felt cleansed. There was something brutal in business and, although he always felt a thrill of the challenge and no matter how much he tried to eliminate the human factor, he hadn’t buried it deep enough for this wonderful woman to feel it. She was perceptive and beautiful and sensitive and everything he wanted in a female but hadn’t realized he needed.
“What made you stop by here? You’ve never ventured into the lion’s den