More Than a Millionaire / The Untamed Sheikh: More Than a Millionaire / The Untamed Sheikh

“You have something I want. I’ll stop at nothing to get it.” And in this instance, winning was everything.

Darkness had fallen by the time Ryan paid the tab for dinner and escorted her from the steak house, increasing the sense of entrapment choking Nicole as they drove toward her home.

Ryan was crowding her and she didn’t like it. Her nails bit into her palms in the shadowy confines of his luxury sports car. “There are other airline management companies, you know. I could recommend a good one.”

Ryan cut her a look, his face illuminated by the dashboard lights. “I’ve done my research. Hightower is the best. You have the largest staff and offer the widest selection of aircraft. HAMC has three global operating centers and a higher safety rating than any of your competitors. You provide services 24/7/365 on four hours’ notice. The other companies can’t compete.”

All facts straight from the HAMC brochure, but hearing them from Ryan’s lips turned the Cajun chicken pasta she’d eaten to lead in her stomach. If she couldn’t talk him out of contracting HAMC, she’d be seeing him more often and that wasn’t a good thing unless it gave her a link to her baby. But she’d prefer to get rid of that complication by getting rid of Ryan Patrick.

“Your Web page doesn’t list any international projects. That makes one of the smaller companies more feasible and less expensive for you.”

“Logistically it didn’t make sense for us to accept overseas jobs in the past because we do a lot of hands-on consulting after a project has begun. If we contract Hightower Aviation, we won’t have to turn them down in the future.”

Panic swelled inside her at the certainty in his voice. With any other man his confidence would have been attractive, but not so here. “Bigger isn’t always better.”

He kept his gaze on the road, but the amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes and carving a groove in his cheek told her he knew she was trying to run him off. “I’m surprised HAMC is still a privately owned company. Some corporate giant should have overtaken you by now.”

She shrugged her stiff shoulders and realized he couldn’t see the gesture. “Several have tried. My brother Trent is determined to prevent that from happening.”

“You’re financially strong and have a low debt to asset ratio. The odds are in your favor.”

Her mouth went dry. “You’ve been checking up on us.”

“I’d study any company I intended to indebt Patrick Architectural a million plus dollars with over a five-year period.”

Five years of seeing Ryan on a regular basis. She gulped.

She shouldn’t be surprised by his diligence. From what she’d seen he wasn’t stupid, just misguided and stubborn about the baby issue. “Still, a long-term commitment to a plane is a huge expense and a risky move in the current economic environment. You should be very, very sure before you contract our services.”

“I’m sure—especially now that I’ll have a child to rush home to. Less time on the road means more time with my kid.”

The road to her personal hell was paved with his good intentions.

Her heart sank as she realized she might not be able to dissuade him from the custody battle.

He turned the car into her condo complex and parked in her driveway. She instantly reached for the door handle. “Thanks for dinner. But please call me before setting any more appointments to see houses. I do have other obligations.”

“What could be more important than providing a safe home for this child?”

Nothing. She hated that he was right. She shoved open the door, bailed out and headed up the walk. The quiet thump of his soles echoing the rapid tap of her heels told her she hadn’t escaped him. He followed her up the shallow stairs to her front door and crowded onto her tiny porch.

Her hanging baskets of petunias filled the humid evening air with their sweet smell, but they couldn’t completely mask the subtle citrus tang of his cologne. It took her three tries to get the key into the lock. She twisted hard and fast and opened her door. Determined to get rid of him ASAP, she quickly stepped inside and turned abruptly to say goodbye. She collided with Ryan who had decided to follow her into her foyer despite the lack of invitation. The impact punched the air from her lungs and knocked her off balance.

Ryan grabbed her elbows to steady her. His pelvis, the length of his thighs and his chest pressed hers, scorching her. Her stomach did a funny flip-flop thing, then a spark of awareness flickered to life.

Nicole stared into his bright blue eyes, watching as Ryan’s pupils expanded and his lips parted. The burn in her abdomen intensified and spread, warming and weighting her limbs. She couldn’t get enough air through her nose and had to gulp deep breaths which only increased the pressure of his chest to her breast.

Back away, Nicole.

But she couldn’t. Her muscles mutinied, refusing to take orders from her mind.

His gaze drifted to her mouth and panic pulsed through her. Surely he wasn’t going to—His hands tightened and his head lowered, slowing down her brain. Transfixed she watched him come closer. Her heart raced and her breath hitched.

“Ryan, don’t—”

His mouth smothered her protest. His lips were surprisingly soft, but at the same time commanding and hungry, plying hers with an expertise she couldn’t help appreciating. She lifted her arms up to push him away, but her bullheaded fingers dug into his rock hard biceps and held on instead of shoving. Her muscles contracted, pulling him closer instead of pushing him away.

A shiver rippled through her like waves radiating from a stone thrown into a pond. His tongue stroked a molten trail across her bottom lip then penetrated, found hers and circled. A rush of desire shocked her, making her skin flush and her abdomen tighten.

She fought the heat spreading through her, and yet she couldn’t dam the seeping awareness or make herself move away. How could she respond so intensely to Ryan—or any man for that matter—with the way she felt about Patrick? A sound meant to be a protest but sounding more like a moan slipped from her mouth into his, echoing in his low growl.

Ryan eased back incrementally, his grip loosening and the warmth of his body slowly leaving hers until only their lips clung. And then those, too, parted.

Gasping for air, Nicole pressed her fingers to her mouth and tried not to pant. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Agreed.” His low, rough tone scraped over her exposed nerves like short nails on bare skin.

She hugged her arms around her middle and fought to stop the tremors that racked her. No man’s kiss had ever rocked her that intensely. Not even Patrick’s. She staggered back in her tiny foyer until her heels hit the bottom stair.

Why had Ryan’s kiss packed such a punch? She searched her brain for a logical explanation for her illogical reaction and grasped on to the first idea that came to her.

“We’re just drawn to each other because of our crazy situation. You’re not my type. I don’t want you.”

His gaze dropped to her breasts. She didn’t have to look down to know what he saw. Her nipples tingled, telling her they were tight and very likely tenting her blouse and contradicting her words. Damn her out-of-control hormones.

She’d read some pregnant women often craved sex, but she hadn’t expected to experience the phenomenon. While she liked sex, it had never been one of those things she couldn’t live without.

Ryan brushed her cheek with a fingertip. The simple touch hit her like a crackling power line. “I don’t want to want you, either, Nicole, but I find you very attractive.”

Hearing the gravelly words only exacerbated the needy spasms of her internal muscles. She dodged out of reach on unsteady legs, stopping in the archway leading to her den. “Please don’t say that or do that again.”

He held her gaze without blinking. “I’m not making promises I’m not sure I can keep.”

Her breath shuddered out, pounded out of her chest by her hammering heart. “You need to go.”

“I’ll call you when the real estate agent locates the next house.”

She wanted to scream at him to never call again.

But she couldn’t. Beth and Patrick were counting on her to keep the peace. Somehow, some way, she would not let them down.

“Way to go,” Trent said as he entered Nicole’s office Monday afternoon.

Her brother wasn’t the type to offer approval unless something really big had happened.

“What are you talking about?”

“Patrick Architectural just bought fractional ownership in a Cessna Citation X. They listed you as the referral.”