Elizabeth Power – Blackmailed Into His Arms: Blackmailed into Bed / The Billionaire's Blackmail Bargain / Blackmailed For Her Baby (страница 8)
It took her a moment to realize she was stark naked, the cream-colored satin sheets soft against her bare skin. And then she remembered the events of last evening, a bright flush heating her from her toes to her hairline. She couldn’t decide if she was embarrassed or sorry Chase wasn’t still in bed beside her so they could once again do everything they’d done last night—and more.
Padding across the soft plush carpet, she found a robe and nightie set in one of the dresser drawers and put them on, then took a few minutes to brush her teeth and wash her face before moving to the open doorway between the bedroom and sitting room.
Chase was already dressed in a charcoal-gray suit, white shirt, and seafoam tie, his black hair neatly combed and styled. He sat at the round mahogany table arranged in front of the wide open windows, sipping hot coffee and reading the morning paper.
Running her fingers through her still sleep-tousled hair, she cleared her throat and started forward.
He lifted his head when he noticed her approach and gave her a small smile. “Morning. Did you sleep well?”
She nodded, taking the seat across from him and reaching for the coffee carafe to pour herself a cup.
“I didn’t know what you’d like for breakfast, so I ordered a little of everything,” he told her, reaching for the room service cart a few inches away and removing the silver lids from several platters.
There were pancakes, scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and sausage links and a wide array of fresh, seasonal fruit. It looked delicious, and she wasted no time filling her plate. She added cream and sugar to her coffee and poured a bit of syrup over her pancakes before digging in.
A second later, she lifted her head and glanced at Chase. “Aren’t you eating?” she asked.
He shook his head and lifted his cup to his lips. “Coffee’s all I need in the morning.”
Having him watch her eat what amounted to a truckload of food while he merely sipped his black coffee made her feel like a glutton. Not that it would stop her, she thought, popping a bite of honeydew melon in her mouth.
After she swallowed, she waved her fork at him, distracting him once again from the business section of the
“It’s not healthy to skip breakfast, you know,” she told him, breaking a slice of bacon into smaller pieces and nibbling them one at a time. “It’s the most important meal of the day.”
One side of his mouth lifted indulgently before he returned his attention to the paper without a word.
She ate in silence awhile longer, enjoying the sunny view out the bank of tall windows, but not her current company. Finally, she put down her fork and grabbed a second plate, filling it with small portions of the same items on her own.
“Here,” she said, pushing the paper aside with a rattle and placing the plate in front of him. “You’re driving me crazy. You have to eat something.”
He stared at her for a long minute, brows knit in a frown. “I don’t need anything to eat.”
He started to open his paper again and straighten the page she’d wrinkled. With a sigh, she half-stood and took the paper from his hands. Before he could grab it back, she returned to her seat and leaned far enough away that he couldn’t reach her unless he got up and came around the table.
“How about if I read the paper to you while you eat?” she offered brightly.
His frown turned into a full-blown scowl. “Elena,” he murmured, lacing her name with dire warning. “I didn’t bring you along to mother me or tell me what to do. I’m thirty-five years old and already set in my ways. I have a routine and I like to stick to it. Now give me back my paper.”
She tipped her head. “Indulge me. Please? You’ve got a busy day ahead of you, and we expended quite a bit of energy last night. You need to keep your strength up or you’ll be of absolutely no use to me in bed tonight.”
She felt her cheeks heat at her own audacity, but forced herself not to squirm under his intense regard. He studied her for several long seconds while her insides turned to jelly.
And then he let out a bark of laughter and picked up his fork.
“Fine,” he said. “You read, I’ll eat. And don’t worry,” he added with a pointed, just-shy-of-boiling glance, “I’ll have plenty of energy for anything you might have in mind tonight.”
Opening the paper to hide any more bright color that might suffuse her face, she swallowed hard and began reading where she thought he’d left off. The information was boring enough to counteract the caffeine already coursing through her bloodstream, but she didn’t stop until she’d reached the last page. She even recapped the comics for him one by one.
When she was finished, she folded the paper and set it aside, delighted to see that he’d cleaned his plate and even poured himself a small glass of orange juice.
“I’ve changed my mind,” he said. “From now on, I’m going to have a huge, four-course breakfast … and I’ll leave the reading of the morning paper to you. Aloud, and in that amazingly sultry voice of yours.”
Sultry? She’d never thought of her voice as sultry before. A little low and raspy at times, but never sultry.
“You have a touch of your father’s accent, did you know that? Like a hint of Mexico just beneath the Texas twang.”
Considering his own Texas drawl was as thick, if not thicker, than her own, she didn’t think he had much room to talk. But still, the compliment—and she did take it as a compliment—washed over her, warming her from the inside out.
“Maybe you could read to me again tonight,” he continued. “In bed. Something sexy and a little naughty.”
Nerves jangled in her stomach, unexpected desire skating down her spine like an Olympic hopeful going for the gold.
“Do you have any sexy or naughty reading material?” she asked, surprised when the words came out strong and surprisingly sensual. For the first time, she heard the sultriness he’d spoken of, as well as an unspoken, almost unintentional invitation.
And from the look in his eyes, she knew he heard it, too.
“Not here,” he said, his voice tight and graveled with lust. “But I’ll find something by this evening even if I have to buy up every book and magazine publisher on the West Coast.”
He held her gaze and it was all she could do not to wiggle in her seat, both from nerves and a growing sense of longing. How he could have such an effect on her after such a short amount of time, she didn’t know. But it was there, strong and powerful and alive.
“Unfortunately,” he went on, dragging his gaze away from her to check his watch, his voice returning to normal, “I have to get going or I’ll be late for my first meeting.”
Pushing his chair away from the table, he stood and dug out his billfold. “I’ll be busy pretty much all day, so I’m afraid you’ll have to find something to keep yourself occupied. Here, take these.” He handed her a gold card and a stack of crisp bills in large denominations. “Go shopping, do lunch, have fun. I’ll see you back here around four. We have another business dinner I’ll want you to be ready for, all right?”
She took the cash and credit card, even though she didn’t like it. Being handed money to “keep herself occupied” made her feel cheap, entirely too much like a paid companion. But then, she supposed that was just part of the job when one agreed to become a man’s mistress.
Throwing back the last swallows of his coffee, he crossed the room for his briefcase, then headed for the door. With his hand on the knob, he tossed an already distracted “See you later” over his shoulder before disappearing into the hall.
The door clicked closed behind him, leaving Elena alone in the sprawling suite. She glanced down at the wad of bills in one hand and the credit card in the other.
Well, that had gone from interesting to disappointing in the blink of an eye, she thought. But this wasn’t a vacation; it was a work week for Chase, and the fulfillment of a business agreement for her.
So she would find something to fill her day like a good mistress, and be back in time to get ready for her next dinner performance.
Where the hell was she?
Chase stood in front of the bedroom bureau, straightening his tie in the mirror for what had to be the fifth or sixth time.
He was showered, dressed and ready for the dinner meeting. The only thing missing was his date.
He glanced at his watch again, even though only a minute had passed since the last time he’d checked, and muttered a colorful oath.
She was almost an hour late. He’d told her to be back in the room by four o’clock, and here it was going on five.
She was probably busy burning up his credit card with dozens of clothes, shoes and expensive trinket purchases. What more could he expect of a spoiled, selfish debutante like Elena Sanchez?
The problem was, she hadn’t acted spoiled or selfish since meeting him at the airport. He hadn’t even seen any signs of the shallow girl she used to be—her bossiness at breakfast that morning notwithstanding.
He’d actually found her strong-arm tactics during that little incident amusing … followed by highly erotic when she’d agreed to use that husky, arousing voice of hers to read to him in bed.