A Game with One Winner

Her insides twisted. “You’ve come to New York before?”

He’d walked the same streets she had? Gone into the shops? What if she’d rounded a corner one day, with Ryan holding her hand, and bumped into Roman? A chill that had nothing to do with the night air skated over her soul. She felt as if she should have known he was here somehow, but the truth was that she hadn’t.

He turned to look at her, his eyes sparkling in the lights from the living room. “Of course. Did you think I would avoid it because you were here?”

She shook her head. “No, but I’m surprised I didn’t hear of it before. The press does seem to follow you around.”

She didn’t purposely seek information about him, but even she could not avoid the checkout stand headlines when they blared something about the sexy Russian and his latest conquest, be it female, business or real estate.

He shrugged. “I am interesting to them because I came from nothing. If I returned to nothing, they would abandon me in a heartbeat.”

He could never be nothing, this tall, enigmatic man who made her ache in ways she’d nearly forgotten.

“You’ve done well for yourself,” she said, trying to keep the subject somewhat safe.

Except there was no safety with him.

“Yes,” he said, his voice cool. “I know it must be a shock to you and your family. With enough polish, even the filthiest of mongrels can appear well-bred and sophisticated.”

His words smarted. She had never thought him beneath her, though she’d let him believe that in the end. Her mother, however, had never approved of her infatuation with him. Both her parents had been nearly frantic with the thought that Caroline would not do her duty and save the stores, when Jon’s parents had pushed for marriage.

She’d proved otherwise, but to this day her mother refused to speak of Roman, though she surely knew that her grandson didn’t resemble Jon Wells in the least.

“That was a long time ago,” Caroline said quietly. “I’d rather not speak of it anymore.”

He took a step toward her, closing the distance until she could feel the warmth emanating from his body. Her brain told her to run; her body told her to step into him. She was paralyzed with warring desires—but Roman was not.

He looped an arm around her waist casually, tugged her toward him until she was flush against his body. She shuddered with the burning memories the contact brought up. Flesh against flesh, hard against soft, heat and moisture and pleasure so intense she’d thought she would die.

“Do you wish to forget everything, Caroline? Have you forgotten this?”

His head dipped toward hers, and she closed her eyes, unable to turn away even if she’d wanted to. She didn’t want to.

For one brief moment, she wanted to feel this sensation again. She wanted to feel the incredible heat of desire for a man—this man—burning her from the inside out. She wanted to feel like a woman one more time.

His mouth claimed hers almost savagely, his tongue sliding between her parted lips to duel with her own. Caroline’s knees turned to liquid, until she was leaning into Roman and supporting herself with her hands gripping his strong arms.

He held her against him, his body responding to hers in ways that made her sigh with longing. He demanded everything in that kiss, and she gave it. She didn’t know how to do anything else. Roman was the only man she’d ever burned for; shockingly, she still burned for him.

He threaded a hand in her hair and dragged her head back to give him better access. Caroline’s hands slid along the opulent fabric of his tuxedo, wound around his neck, her body arching into his with abandon.

She was flung back through time to another moment, another kiss. The first time he’d ever kissed her, they’d been standing on a terrace like this one—only it had not belonged to him. It had been her family apartment on Fifth Avenue, and her parents were having a cocktail party. Roman, as her father’s star employee in the accounting and marketing department, had been invited. He hadn’t been a member of the upper crust, but he’d stood out in his tuxedo as if he’d been born to be there.

Caroline had never doubted his ability to fit into her world. She’d been flirting with him on and off for the last several weeks. She’d made a point to go through his department every time she’d gone to the Sullivan Group’s headquarters.

That night, however, she’d seen a different side to Roman Kazarov. He’d been utterly breathtaking and totally in control. Smooth, suave, compelling. She’d known, watching him talk with one of her mother’s society friends, that he was completely out of her league. She was the one who was not sophisticated enough for him.

And so she’d thrown herself at him when she’d found him alone on the terrace. To her surprise, he’d taken what she’d given. And asked for more. Their affair had been hot, passionate, and a little too out of control.

But oh, how exhilarating it had been!

Caroline tilted her hips into his, felt the overwhelming evidence of his arousal. Her knees were already liquid, but now her resolve was following into more flexible territory. Would it truly hurt to spend one more night with him? It had been so long, and she was lonely. That had not been a lie.

With a soft curse, Roman broke the kiss. He gripped her shoulders, held her at arm’s length. His eyes were hotter than she’d yet seen them. Her stomach clenched, both in confusion and fear. A thread of disappointment wound its way through her as her limbs regained their strength.

“What is this all about, Caroline?” he demanded. “What are you trying to hide?”

CHAPTER THREE

Is the Sullivan Heiress Kazarov’s Latest Squeeze?

HIS VOICE WAS harsh, hard, and she flinched from the coldness in it. A moment ago, he’d been kissing her as if nothing had ever gone wrong between them. And now he was back to hating her.

“I have no idea what you mean,” she said coolly. In spite of his lethal appeal, she would not fold. She would do nothing except what she wanted to do. And she would win this battle in the end. That’s all she cared about: winning.

Thank God he’d kissed her, she thought. Because now she knew she could survive it.

Roman let her go and shoved a hand through his hair. Her lips still tingled from his kiss, and her body still ached with want. It was disconcerting. She realized she was cold and turned to search for the wrap, which must have fallen when she’d gone into his arms. She found it and dragged it over her bare shoulders again, shoring up her resolve as she did so.

“You lied about your address,” Roman said.

Her heart seemed to stop in her chest for the longest moment before kicking hard again. Of course he’d known she hadn’t given the correct address. “I did. I admit it. But how did you know?”

“Because it is my business to know everything about the people whose companies I intend to acquire.” It was said without a trace of irony, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world for him to know where she lived after all this time. To not only know, but to let her try and deceive him without once saying a word. It made her furious. And anxious.

“You could have said something,” she told him tightly. “And saved me the trouble of continuing the lie.”

“And miss this charming interlude? I think not. But tell me why you did it.”

Caroline licked her lips. Ryan would be in bed by now, his little body tucked under his race car blankets. He would not come bounding out the door. Nor would he have if she’d let the driver take her home in the first place. She’d simply panicked at the thought, and look where it had gotten her. Fool.

She needed time to think. God knew she wasn’t thinking very well at the moment. She’d been stressed and overworked these last few weeks. There was so much to do, so much to work out, if Sullivan’s was to make their next loan payment to the bank. She should be at home, working on the projections before her meeting with the bank tomorrow, not sparring with this ruthless man.

Roman was watching her curiously. And she didn’t kid herself that he was anything less than a threat. Under the curiosity lay a tiger waiting to pounce. One sign of weakness, one more mistake in judgment, and she would be toast.

“I lied because I was angry. I didn’t want you taking me home.” She sniffed. “It was quite a shock seeing you again, I admit. And then you got into the taxi with me, though you were not invited.”

He looked dangerous. “That doesn’t explain what happened next.”

Caroline’s face flamed. No, it certainly didn’t explain the panic that had made her try to use the promise of sex to distract him. She lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. Let him think the worst of her. She did not care. “It’s not the first time I’ve thrown myself at you. Perhaps I was feeling nostalgic.”

Roman snorted. “Of course. This explains everything.”

“And on that note, I think I should go home now,” she said, stiffening her spine and facing him with all the haughtiness she possessed. “Clearly, I made a mistake.”

His eyes narrowed as he continued to study her. “Da, you should go.” He strode past her and back inside, where he picked up her purse and handed it to her. Caroline gripped the clutch tightly, embarrassment and fury warring within her for dominance.

Once, he couldn’t keep his hands off her. Once, she’d gloried in the knowledge that she could make this man burn for her. Now, he was throwing her out. Which was what she wanted, of course—and yet it pricked her pride, too. No longer was she irresistible to him.