Heir for his empire, p.1
Heir for His Empire, page 1
“I’ve dreamed of you...”
Ajax moved closer. Erin didn’t step away, even though she knew she should, but right now she couldn’t quite remember why. She was caught up in the intensity of Ajax’s proximity and the way he was looking at her, and so when his head lowered toward her and his mouth touched hers, she felt nothing but a wild surge of desire.
Had he asked if he could kiss her? She didn’t care. She’d given her assent just by accepting it. His mouth moved over hers, more insistent. Asking a question. Erin answered without hesitation, her mouth opening under his, allowing him to deepen the contact.
He moved closer, wound an arm around her back and pulled her into him where she could feel the hard thrust of his desire for her. It sent arrows of need right to her core, where she was melting and—
Ajax pulled his head back abruptly. “What’s that sound?”
It took a second for Erin to register the cry of her baby. She reacted instantly, pushing free of Ajax’s arms, and ran to the bedroom.
Irish author Abby Green ended a very glamorous career in film and TV—which really consisted of a lot of standing in the rain outside actors’ trailers—to pursue her love of romance. After she’d bombarded Harlequin with manuscripts, they kindly accepted one, and an author was born. She lives in Dublin, Ireland, and loves any excuse for distraction. Visit abby-green.com or email abbygreenauthor@gmail.com.
Books by Abby Green
Harlequin Presents
Bound by Her Shocking Secret
A Ring for the Spaniard’s Revenge
His Housekeeper’s Twin Baby Confession
Hot Summer Nights with a Billionaire
The Flaw in His Red-Hot Revenge
Hot Winter Escapes
Claimed by the Crown Prince
Jet-Set Billionaires
Their One-Night Rio Reunion
Passionately Ever After...
The Kiss She Claimed from the Greek
Princess Brides for Royal Brothers
Mistaken as His Royal Bride
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
Heir for His Empire
Abby Green
Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
EPILOGUE
EXCERPT FROM TWINS TO TAME HIM BY TARA PAMMI
PROLOGUE
THE SEXUAL TENSION between Erin Murphy and the man in the elevator was thick enough to cut with a knife. A million and one sensations fizzed through her blood and body. Triumph. The satisfaction of a job well done. But more than all that was desire.
But even the word desire was too polite. It was sheer, raw lust. And danger. Illicitness.
Because the man was no mere man. He was her boss. Not even her boss. He was her boss’s, boss’s boss. With probably a couple more bosses in between.
It had been building for the last few weeks, while they’d been locked in rooms with the most intense negotiations taking place.
Obviously she’d been aware of how gorgeous he was. How sexy. The whole world knew it, and it had hit her right between the eyes the day she’d been hired on to his legal team as an attorney, proving she was no different from the masses. But she’d buried it down deep—because she knew it was so inappropriate to fancy him, and because she was eager to make a good impression. This was her first job since completing a master’s degree in corporate law, and she’d been hired specifically because of that additional expertise.
She’d thought she’d had her crush under control. Until these last few weeks of being in the professional equivalent of a pressure cooker.
Ajax Nikolau was a Greek god. Or, as near to a god as a mortal could be. Beautiful, with mesmeric deep-set green-blue eyes that popped from a chiseled face, and a mouth that called to mind sin and sex. Thick wavy dark hair. Tall, powerful build. Athletic. He wore suits, but the way they moulded to his sculpted form was downright provocative.
Together with a mind as sharp as a rapier, it was a potent combination.
He was also, arguably, one of the wealthiest men in the world—since approximately an hour ago, when the last contract had been signed. He now had full control of his family logistics business. He’d been rich before—astronomically—but now he was on a par with fabled Indian steel magnates and media titans.
But Erin didn’t care about any of that. Because it didn’t mean anything to her beyond the fact that she’d done her job. All she could see was him. The man. Flesh and blood. Sinew and bone. Hard muscle. Eyes blazing with a heat that connected directly to her core in a way that had never happened to her before.
They’d had champagne to celebrate with the rest of the team after the signing, and the sparkling wine still lingered in her veins like bubbling electricity. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. Even though nothing had actually been articulated. It was in the air. Potent.
Just moments ago they’d been in the foyer of Ajax Nikolau’s office building in downtown Manhattan, and as Erin had been about to leave, along with the rest of the legal team, he’d called her name.
She’d turned around, fixing a polite smile to her face. ‘Yes?’
‘I have some papers in my home office. I think it’s best if you take them for safekeeping. Is that okay?’
Erin had frowned briefly. The last thing Ajax Nikolau had to worry about was the security of anything. The man was more well-guarded than a head of state. Along with his offices, he had properties strewn from one end of the globe to the other. So it had been an odd request.
But then she’d looked into his eyes and she’d seen the veneer of civility stripped away.
He wants me.
It had hit her like a thunderbolt right in the gut. She’d suspected, but whenever she’d caught him watching her over the previous weeks she’d looked away, telling herself she was being ridiculous. Mortified to have been caught looking at him.
Why on earth would a man like Ajax Nikolau be remotely interested in a woman like her? She didn’t incite men to paroxsyms of desire. Especially not men like him. She was reasonably fit. Her features were symmetrical enough. But there was nothing about her that drew attention, and that was how she liked it.
Except now she was in this elevator, with him, and she had to face the unbelievable fact that somehow she’d drawn the eye of one of the most exciting men in the world. There wasn’t enough oxygen going to her brain for her to try and figure out why.
This was, without a doubt, the most spontaneous, out-of-character thing she’d ever done in her life.
Meanwhile the elevator kept ascending to the penthouse. And suddenly Erin went cold with a flash of panic. What if she’d read the signals wrong? What if the triumph of the deal, the champagne, had all gone to her head and here she was, mentally climbing the man like a monkey, when he literally meant to just give her some papers and send her on her way?
But then, as if reading her mind, he put out a hand, pressed a button, and the elevator came to an incongruously smooth stop between floors.
Nikolau’s voice was a little rough. ‘Just so we’re clear: I want you, Erin. But you’re under no obligation to do anything except take the papers and leave.’
Erin gulped. Had he read her mind? Had she spoken out loud?
He does want me. I’m not hallucinating.
A mixture of relief and dizzying excitement made her tremble. She said faintly, ‘There are actually papers?’
He nodded. ‘But I won’t lie. I used them as a pretext to get you alone. For weeks now you’ve been driving me crazy. I know this is crossing a million boundaries—and, believe me, if I felt I could resist... I would.’
His jaw clenched at that, as if he was irritated with himself, with his own lack of control.
The mere thought of pushing this man to the edge of his control was beyond heady.
Something ridiculous ocurred to her. ‘What do I call you?’ She’d always referred to him as ‘Mr Nikolau’, even though he had said to them all that they should call him Ajax.
‘My name is Ajax.’
She tried it out. ‘Ajax...’ It felt strange. Illicit.
He touched her jaw. ‘I like the way it sounds when you say it.’
Erin might have rolled her eyes if she’d been less in awe and not still reeling.
What he’d just said—that he couldn’t resist her—was just so beyond her comprehension of who she was—essentially boring—that she almost felt like giggling a little hysterically. But then the look on his face stopped her. It was stark. Hungry.
For her.
Plain, academic, serious Erin Murphy.
She’d led an academically driven existence for as long as she could remember. As the only child of a professor, it was all she’d really known. Her life had rarely, if ever, been given over to moments of spontaneity or just...fun. Not that this moment could be described as ‘fun’, exactly, when Ajax was looking at her with such an intense expression that she realised she’d never really seen him smile.
She knew there were
reasons for that—he’d tragically lost his wife and child in an accident some years ago—and suddenly, as if galvanised by that reminder, and the sense of her own somewhat staid life, instead of doing the sane thing, the safe thing—stepping back out of this moment of madness—Erin moved towards him. Towards the madness.
She touched her mouth to his, trembling all over. For a second he didn’t move, and Erin became acutely aware that she was pressed up against a wall of steel. She went cold again. Maybe she’d overstepped the mark? Even though he’d told her he wanted her, maybe he was the kind of guy who didn’t appreciate women making the first move?
But before she could overthink it he took her elbows in his hands, holding her to him, and his mouth moved over hers. Any suspicion that she’d done the wrong thing because she’d initiated contact was gone. Melted. Turned to ash.
She couldn’t feel her legs. His mouth was hard and soft, demanding but asking, all at once. It was like no kiss she’d ever experienced. Erin had to pull back for a second, dragging in a breath. Her vision was blurred. Kissing Ajax was like being pulled into a vortex, going faster and faster.
As if he sensed she was overwhelmed, he stopped and cupped her jaw. She felt her hair being freed from its tidy chignon, falling around her shoulders. His eyes followed the movement, and then his fingers were in her hair.
‘It’s like burnt gold.’
She couldn’t find a breath. He was making her hair sound...extraordinary. But really it was nothing special. It wasn’t blonde, or red...it was somewhere in between. Her mother’s hair. But her mother was the last person Erin wanted to think about at that moment, because thinking of her inevitably brought painful memories of abandonment, so she reached for his tie and loosened it, opening his top button of his shirt.
The hollow at the bottom of his throat was exposed, and it felt ridiculously intimate even though they were both still fully clothed.
As if reading Erin’s mind again, Ajax pushed her jacket off her shoulders and it fell to the ground. Long fingers efficiently undid the silk bow at her neck and then moved down to her buttons. She imagined them slipping free of the silk, eager to please him.
She almost felt like giggling again, but sobered up when he pushed her open shirt aside and looked at her for a long moment. At her breasts, encased in silk. Erin felt a blush rise into her face. She’d always had a slightly embarrassing preference for expensive materials close to her skin. A taste for luxury that didn’t exist anywhere else in her life.
He dislodged her shirt so that it fell off one shoulder. He slipped his fingers under the strap of her bra, dropping it onto her arm, and the cup immediately fell down over the curve of her breast.
She shivered.
Erin had no idea what to expect...she hadn’t gone as far as audaciously fantasising about what it would be like with a man like this. But she knew she never would have imagined this...this exquisite slow-burn torture.
He cupped her breast and her nipple pinched tight. Her breath became more shallow. And then he lowered his head and his mouth closed over the straining tip.
It was like an electric shock to the system, the laving of his tongue and the sucking of his mouth...all that hot moisture. Her hands tangled in his hair. She couldn’t even remember putting her hands there. She wanted to do the same to him—take off his clothes, bare him—but he was kissing her again and palming her breast, fingers trapping that nipple and pinching.
She gasped into his mouth.
His tongue was hot, demanding, and she had no choice but to submit with an eagerness that might have mortified her if she’d been capable of rational thought.
Erin could feel his erection pressing against her and she moved against him instinctively, seeking more contact. He pulled her skirt up, bunching it over her hips, and then his fingers were spreading over her thigh, lifting it to hook her leg around his waist, bringing her into even deeper contact with his body.
She broke the kiss. His hardness was right there. At the apex of her legs. Where every nerve-ending was throbbing. Erin wanted to free him and push her underwear aside, so there would be no barrier to a more intimate connection. The need was so intense she could hardly breathe.
She tried to communicate it with her eyes. She’d never wanted anything so badly. So urgently. Here. Now.
Time stood still, and for an infinitesimal moment she could see that he was as hungry as her. But then something flickered across his face. So fast she couldn’t decipher it. Yet it looked like shock.
He pulled back, and Erin almost whimpered. Mortifyingly.
He put her leg back down and said roughly, ‘Not here...like this. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.’
Erin’s brain was too heated to fully understand until he pushed the elevator button and it softly jolted into movement again. Upwards. She breathed out when she realised he wasn’t taking them back down to the ground level.
They ascended so high her ears popped. Then the elevator stopped again and the doors opened, straight into what had to be Ajax’s apartment. She’d never been there. His offices were a few levels down.
The apartment was sleek and minimalistic. Huge ceiling-to-floor glass windows. Modern art on the walls. Sofas and chairs that looked inviting but which Erin had a feeling had never really been sat in. She knew Ajax tended to entertain in venues. Not at home.
Even though she’d been working for him for weeks, she still wasn’t used to the level of opulence in his world. But she wasn’t given a chance to linger or look around. He took her hand and led her silently through the dimly lit space, down a corridor and into a room at the other end of the apartment.
His bedroom. There were huge walls of glass again, giving what had to be a breathtaking view of lower Manhattan at night, a glittering skyline of lights. The blinking lights of a helicopter flew across the night sky.
But then it was all eclipsed. Because Ajax turned her around to face him and she swallowed. Suddenly intimidated to be here, in his private space.
‘Are you sure you want to do this, Erin? You can stop...walk away at any time.’
Something inside her eased. She’d known he was a man of integrity after watching him do business, but to have him really care about her consent was something she hadn’t even realised she needed.
She nodded. ‘I want this.’ You.
She’d never considered herself a very sexual person. She’d had one boyfriend in college, here in Manhattan, and they’d both decided to amicably split up when they’d graduated and he’d moved to Los Angeles. There had been no major grief. She’d had no intention of leaving New York, where she’d been born and had grown up. And the sex... Her boyfriend was the only person she’d had sex with, and at no point had she ever felt for him what she was feeling now.
Desperate. Hungry.
It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. As if she wasn’t as in control of her own reactions as she’d always thought she was. Erin was a cerebral person, and she’d never been so aware of her body.
Ajax started to take off his clothes. Jacket shucked off and thrown to the floor. Tie pulled off. Shirt opened, revealing a broad, muscled chest with a dusting of hair across his pectorals.
Erin had hardly caught her breath when his hands were on his trousers and he was undoing them, pushing them down over lean hips. Stepping out of them. Shoes and socks gone.
Now he stood before her fully naked, and she was...in shock. She didn’t know where to look and she wanted to look everywhere. Her gaze travelled over inches of dark golden flesh, the evidence of his lineage from Greece. Down further. Flat stomach, slim hips and...his erection. She gulped. He was big. The sheer evidence of his virility was daunting.
‘I’m feeling a little underdressed here, Erin.’
She looked up and could see his mouth twitching. That beautfiul sexy mouth.
Her heart hitched. Oh, my.
She realised her own state of undress. Shirt and bra half on, half off. Jacket gone. Still in the elevator? Skirt still ruched up over one thigh. Hair tumbling over her shoulders. Too long. She hadn’t had time to get it cut.
Before she could figure out where to start, Ajax stepped close and pushed her shirt down over her arms and off. It fell to the floor. He reached around behind her to undo her bra. It too fell away.
