The Undercover Billionaire Read online

  She hated it when he manipulated her, and he was manipulating her. But when he put it like that, she felt like she couldn’t refuse.

  It was only lunch. Not much of a big deal.

  She had no idea why May was so fixated on her, but she could sit through a lunch for her father’s sake. Cesare had had a great many things taken from him by people he’d trusted, and she didn’t want to be one of those people. She didn’t want to let him down.

  So she’d been a good girl and had met Daniel at the restaurant, had been polite and smiled a lot and made small talk. Not that there had been much of that since even though he’d apparently told people he wasn’t to be disturbed, he kept getting calls on his phone all the same.

  And answering them. They all appeared to be important.

  She sipped at her water, staring at the man sitting across from her. His voice was quiet but firm, and she guessed it was okay. Didn’t have that gravelly roughness that made Wolf’s so attractive though. And Daniel wasn’t bad looking. Yes, he was pushing fifty, but he was still trim, and although there was white in his dark hair, it could reasonably be called distinguished. His features were pleasant enough, though he had a rather mean cast to his thin-lipped mouth, yet maybe given time, she could warm to them.

  He wasn’t built tall and broad though, nor did he have that intense, physical charisma that … say … Wolf Tate had.

  Why are you comparing him to Wolf?

  Olivia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She shouldn’t be comparing him to Wolf. She shouldn’t be thinking of Wolf at all. At least, that’s what she’d been telling herself for the past two days as she’d busied herself with work.

  But telling herself not to think about him didn’t stop her brain from returning to him again and again. To the heat of his body under hers as she’d sat astride him, and the smoothness of his skin as she’d touched him. To the concern in his uneven gaze as he’d asked her what was wrong. To the way he’d brushed her hair behind her ear, his fingers grazing her skin.

  To the regret she’d felt as she’d opened the door and walked out of that hotel room.

  Not forgetting all the lies he told you, the way he used you, showing you exactly how much your friendship meant to him.

  No, she wasn’t going to think about those things either. They hurt too much.

  What she should be thinking about now was Daniel. He wasn’t what she wanted, no, but then no man was.

  Except one.

  Olivia put her water down and ignored the thought, smiling yet again as Daniel finally ended his phone conversation.

  “Now,” he said, sitting to face her again as he put his phone down. “Where were we? Ah yes, I was going to talk to you about something your father and I have been discussing.” His smile was thin, and she thought he probably meant it to look friendly, but it didn’t. “Something that concerns you.”

  Her stomach lurched. “Oh?”

  “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.” He gave a laugh that sounded forced. “At least, not that bad.”

  Not reassured, Olivia wished she’d gotten a glass of wine instead of the water. “What is it?”

  Daniel picked up his own wine glass and took a sip. “Well, I think you know I’m interested in you, Olivia. Very interested. And I’d like to take our relationship to the next level, so to speak.”

  Her stomach lurched again. Hell, she really didn’t want to talk about this, not now. Moving her fingers restlessly on her napkin, she tried to keep the smile pasted to her face. “Our relationship?” She was careful not to make it sound too sharp. “I wasn’t sure we had one. It’s only been a couple of dates.”

  “Exactly. Which is why I want to make it more. I want to keep seeing you, Olivia. Get to know you better.” Another flicker of that thin-lipped smile. “And who knows? Maybe it’ll lead to something deeper?”

  Something deeper …

  Daniel wasn’t a bad man, at least not that she’d seen. Plus, her father had given her some reasons as to why it would be useful to get to know him better, so it couldn’t hurt, could it? Besides, there were worse things than dating him.

  Sleeping with him?

  She blinked. That would happen if she kept dating him, wouldn’t it? And if she said yes to him courting her, then the natural conclusion of that was marriage. And marriage would lead to sex and then it would be Daniel’s hands on her skin. Daniel’s mouth on hers. Daniel brushing her hair back behind her ear …

  Ice gathered in her gut, a shiver of revulsion moving over her skin. It irritated her. Dear God, it was only sex. It didn’t mean anything. Not when the benefits of allying herself with May would outweigh her own distaste.

  Yes, keep telling yourself that.

  Well, she had to keep telling herself that. What other choice did she have? It wasn’t as if she could have the man she truly wanted.

  You could have. You ran away.

  “Well?” Daniel was looking expectantly at her. “What do you say?”

  She opened her mouth to reply, to say what she didn’t know, but at that point a man walked into the restaurant and her awareness of everything else completely vanished.

  Tall, broad, insanely muscled. Walking in like he owned the place and everyone in it. He was once again in jeans and boots, a dark blue shirt and that battered leather jacket thrown over the top. Aviator shades covered his eyes, his wide mouth curving in a smile that was only a hair short of arrogant.

  Wolf.

  People turned to look at him as he passed because a six-foot-five gladiator of a man was something most of them didn’t see every day, plus the animalistic grace with which he moved made him pretty damn mesmerizing.

  At least, she was mesmerized. Frozen completely to her seat.

  What the hell was he doing here? Had he come for her? And if so, how had he known where she’d be?

  Of course he’s come for you. Who else would he come for?

  She was being an idiot. She’d escaped him before he’d gotten that information, and now he was here to get it. To get her.

  The ice in her gut melted clean away and the shiver that went through her wasn’t revulsion at all, not this time. It was excitement, along with a thrilling fear that had her clutching her napkin in her fists, her whole body gathering itself to run. But whether she’d run away from him or toward him, she couldn’t tell.

  He didn’t move in her direction straightaway. Instead he aimed for the table where the two bodyguards her father had insisted come along sat. Obviously he knew them because he greeted each of them with a high-five before leaning down to speak to them.

  She stared. What was he doing?

  “Olivia?” Daniel was looking at her strangely. “Anything the matter?”

  Dragging her gaze away from Wolf, her heartbeat loud in her ears, she forced yet another fake smile. “Oh, I’m fine.”

  “Really? You seem distracted.”

  “No, no. Just … thinking about something Dad said to me earlier.”

  “Oh? What was that?” Daniel’s eyes gleamed. “Something about me I hope?”

  But she couldn’t answer, because out of the corner of her eye, she could see Wolf finish up his conversation with the bodyguards, then turn and head straight toward their table.

  She swallowed, reaching for her glass of water, the strange combination of excitement and fear turning over and over inside her. Not to mention a sneaking admiration for the sheer gall of him. To come for her right here, in the middle of a crowded restaurant, making no effort to hide his identity. Seemingly not caring that her bodyguards were right there.

  He must want her very badly indeed.

  No. He wants that information. Don’t forget that.

  Daniel was frowning at her, and she realized she should have answered his questions. But by then it was too late, because Wolf was there, coming up behind Daniel, that easygoing, lazy smile turning his mouth. “Hey, there,” he said in a friendly tone, the familiarity of his rough voice making her hands clench tighter on her napkin. �
�I hate to interrupt your romantic little lunch, but would you mind if I had a word with Olivia?”

  Daniel’s frown deepened as he twisted and looked up at the man standing beside his chair, towering over him.

  “Excuse me?” Daniel’s tone was not friendly. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Oh, my bad.” Wolf reached up, took his shades off, and grinned. “Wolf Tate.” He put his sunglasses in the pocket of his jacket then held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you…?”

  Daniel stared coldly at Wolf’s outstretched hand but didn’t take it. “Actually, I do mind. We’re in the middle of something.”

  Wolf didn’t seem at all offended, his lazy grin widening. “Chill out, bro. I’m just a friend of Olivia’s and all I need is five minutes of her time.” Then he looked at her. “What do you say, Liv?”

  The impact of his gaze was almost physical and she didn’t know why it hit her so powerfully right in that moment. But she could feel it, a shudder moving through her, all the way down to her toes. The sapphire-and-emerald gleam of his eyes was inescapable and in them she could see something glittering, but she didn’t know what it was. She only knew that it made the shivering excitement inside her even worse.

  “Olivia’s not going anywhere,” Daniel said. “She and I are in the middle of—”

  “Yeah, you know I think Olivia can speak for herself,” Wolf interrupted lazily, his gaze still on hers. “Can’t you Olivia?”

  David looked furious. He opened his mouth to say something and Olivia knew that whatever it was, it would only make this situation worse. Which gave her two choices. She either refused Wolf and alerted her bodyguards to the fact that she was in danger—and then Wolf would leave or he’d have to fight the bodyguards off and snatch her in the middle of the lunchtime rush.

  Or she agreed to his five minutes.

  It’s not going to be five minutes. And he’s not going to let you get away.

  She should stay. She should tell him politely but firmly she wasn’t going to go anywhere with him, all the while alerting her bodyguards.

  Yet when she opened her mouth, that wasn’t what came out. “It’s okay, Daniel,” she said instead. “It’ll only be five minutes. I’ll be back, I promise.”

  Wolf’s expression didn’t change, but she saw the flare of triumph in his eyes all the same.

  “Olivia,” Daniel began. Only to stop as his phone once again started ringing.

  “It’s fine.” She pushed her chair back, her heart thundering. “Answer it. You can talk while I’m gone.”

  Wolf’s smile was very white as she got to her feet. Then he jerked his head toward the restaurant’s exit. “Come on. I won’t keep you long.”

  She didn’t dare look in the direction of her bodyguards, following Wolf as he threaded through the tables, heading for the door.

  She still couldn’t believe she was doing this. Because she knew with certainty that he wouldn’t let her come back to the table. That once they’d gotten out of the restaurant, she would be his captive.

  His willing captive.

  Olivia took a shaking breath, a complicated mess of emotion tangling inside her. The pull between what she wanted to do for her father and her own intense longing for her friend. Because the two were incompatible, she knew that as surely as she knew her own name.

  Outside the restaurant was a foyer area with a corridor that led to other offices, plus a bank of elevators right in front of the restaurant door itself.

  As soon as the doors shut behind him, Wolf turned and reached out, his strong, warm fingers wrapping around her elbow.

  She stiffened at the touch, not ready for the surge of heat that went through her as he did so. “Wolf, wait,” she said, trying to pull away.

  But he only held on tighter, moving away from the restaurant doors and down the corridor a little way before turning and pushing her up against the wall. He let go, but since he was standing right in front of her, his height and his build essentially blocking her from getting away, it didn’t mean a hell of a lot.

  The easygoing smile that had turned his mouth was gone, the beautifully sculpted lines now hard, and there was no doubting the glitter in his eyes. Anger, pure and simple.

  Yet all he said was, “I was right, wasn’t I?”

  Bracing herself for an interrogation about how she’d escaped him, all she could do was blink up at him for a second. Then it penetrated what he was talking about. “What? About Daniel?”

  “Yes, of course fucking Daniel.”

  “No, you’re not right,” she snapped, annoyed with his tone all of a sudden. “Dad hasn’t promised me to him. All he said was that Daniel was interested in me and that he wanted to court me.”

  “Court you?” Wolf gave a harsh laugh. “Is that what they’re calling it these days? No Liv, he doesn’t want to court you. He wants to marry you so he has leverage against your father. And your father has no choice but to let him have you, because he wants the alliance with May. That’s how it works.”

  She didn’t want to believe it, not one word. But she couldn’t forget that conversation she’d had with her father, about how beneficial it would be for her to start seeing May, couching it in business terms, making it sound like a business merger.

  “Well, and so what if I’m okay with marrying him?” The words sounded wrong as soon as she’d said them, but she went on anyway. “Perhaps it would end up being a good thing for me. It’ll certainly be useful for our family.”

  Wolf scowled and brought up his hands, placing them flat to the wall on either side of her head, leaning down so his face was inches away from hers. “Is that the kind of bullshit he told you? You didn’t hear a word of what I said about how you’re just leverage?”

  “But I—”

  “And a warm body in his bed to fuck.”

  Again, that word in his harsh voice went straight through her, making all her awareness zero in on how close he was standing. How he’d surrounded her with hard muscle and heat and that dark, intoxicating scent. Making it so difficult to think. Hell, even stringing words together was difficult.

  “You think I’m stupid?” She had to force herself to speak. “You think I don’t know any of that? That I haven’t thought about it?”

  “What I think is that you’re naive.” He dipped his head even lower, so all she could see was the glitter of sapphire and emerald. “Your father isn’t who you think he is.”

  She didn’t like it. She didn’t like any of it. The way he kept picking at her doubt, making it sharper, more certain. Undermining the comfortable shell of denial she’d surrounded herself with.

  “You have no idea who my father is,” she said, defensive. “And anyway, what if I want Daniel to court me? What if marrying him is what I want?”

  “You don’t want him, Liv. I know you don’t.”

  “Yes, I do.” It was a lie, but she couldn’t help it. She had to protect herself somehow. “He’s exactly what I need.”

  “No, he’s not.”

  “And how the hell would you know?”

  The hard glitter in Wolf’s eyes intensified. “Because what you need is me.”

  Then before she could say another word, he closed the last remaining inch between them and covered her mouth with his.

  * * *

  Olivia went completely still, but her lips under his were so fucking soft he could hardly breathe. He could smell her, strawberries and musk, and he knew he should pull back, let her go, but he couldn’t.

  She was lying to herself. He’d seen the look on her face the moment he’d walked into the restaurant, and it hadn’t been the look of a woman having lunch with a man she was ecstatic about. He knew a genuine Olivia smile when he saw one, but the one curving Olivia’s mouth as she’d looked at May was as fake as they got.

  She hadn’t wanted to be there, he would have laid money on the fact.

  He hadn’t been able to put a name to the thing that had surged in him right then. Possessiveness maybe, but he’d never been po
ssessive about a woman before, so it couldn’t have been that surely? So maybe it had simply been protectiveness. She hadn’t wanted to be having lunch with that asshole and so he was there to make sure she didn’t have to.

  He’d already spotted the de Santis security team, because of course de Santis wouldn’t let her go out without some kind of protection. Luckily he knew both men and had detoured to their table to say hi and to let them know he was going to take Olivia out for a quick five-minute conversation, no biggie. And because they knew him and knew he was best buddies with de Santis, they were more than fine with it. He wanted them to know who’d taken her, too, especially if he wanted his bait plan to work.

  After that, he’d headed straight for Olivia’s table, keeping a firm hold on his temper, because what he’d really wanted to do was smash that asshole May straight in the face. But that kind of thing wouldn’t exactly make it easier to get Olivia away, and so he’d managed to hold himself back.

  At least until he’d gotten out of the restaurant and she’d started talking bullshit about how she’d wanted to be there with May. How an alliance with him would be good for her family and that it was exactly what she needed.

  It wasn’t though, and they both knew that, so why she had to keep lying to herself and to him, he didn’t know. He did know that she was wrong. And that there was only one thing he could think of to do to prove it.

  He felt the shudder that ran through her as he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth on hers, touching his tongue to the insane softness of her bottom lip, tracing the line of it.

  She remained quite still, and since she didn’t pull away, he stepped closer to her, so that their bodies were almost but not quite touching.

  He was a pretty straight-up guy. When he wanted a woman and she was into it, he went ahead and got right down to it. In other words, kissing was nice but he preferred a woman’s mouth to be wrapped around his cock.