Bought by a Millionaire Page 10

  And he didn’t know what the hell to do with it. He could barely handle the idea of adding a few framed photos to his apartment or tearing up the surrogacy agreement with Shannon. Admitting to any emotion toward Shannon stronger than straightforward desire might send him into a comatose state.

  “Burke?”

  The hand on his arm and Shannon’s low voice in his ear caused him to jerk. At his reaction, she immediately broke the contact, and Burke cursed himself for giving her even that small reason not to feel comfortable touching him.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “That’s all right. I was a little distracted.” He shook off the puzzlement still coursing through his veins and softened his tone in hopes of putting Shannon back at ease. “How are you two doing over there?”

  Her lips turned up in happiness. “I think we’ve pretty much caught up on every minute that’s passed since the last time we saw each other. It’s almost time for dinner, so I thought we could accompany Mom to the dining room before we leave. Would you mind?”

  “Of course not.” He crossed the room to Eleanor’s side and helped her to her feet, then waited for Shannon to take her mother’s other arm. “It’s not very often I get to be an escort for two beautiful ladies.”

  “Oh, I like him, Shannon,” Eleanor said in a stage whisper, walking slowly but competently between them. “Don’t let this one get away.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” Shannon apologized when they reached the car. “She thinks we’re involved and I couldn’t seem to convince her otherwise.”

  Burke chuckled. If Shannon only knew how close her mother’s thoughts were to his own. “Don’t worry about it. Frankly, I’m flattered that your mother thinks I’m a worthy candidate to date her only daughter. I would have expected her to warn you away from me instead.”

  “Hardly. She thinks you’d be a great catch. Handsome, polite, rich.” She cast him a sidelong glance, her lips twisted in a reluctant half smile. “I’m afraid she recognized your name from the papers.”

  “Your mother is one smart cookie. I guess we’re just lucky no one else recognized me or we might never have gotten out of there.”

  “It’s hell being famous,” Shannon teased.

  Grinning back at her, he said, “Sometimes it is. But fame has its perks, too.”

  He was about to list them, in hopes of impressing her, when his cell phone rang.

  “Bishop,” he answered, digging the small square of plastic out of his front jacket pocket and flipping it open. “Dammit, I completely forgot. We’re on our way back now, but…Wait a minute. Let me get back to you.”

  Clicking the phone closed, he glanced briefly at Shannon before returning his attention to the road. “I have a huge favor to ask,” he began. “That was Margaret, reminding me of a charity function I promised to attend this evening. The problem is, I don’t have a date, and if I go alone, I’ll spend the entire night fending off attention-hungry gold diggers. Is there any chance I can convince you to go with me?”

  “Oh, no.” Shannon was already shaking her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Please. I wouldn’t ask if I weren’t desperate and hadn’t committed myself to be there. Besides, it’s for a good cause. A thousand-dollar-a-plate dinner to raise money for underprivileged children. You do like children, don’t you?” he added, knowing she was too much of a soft touch to resist his blatant manipulation.

  “I’d rather not,” she continued to protest. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

  “Not a problem.” Steering with one hand, he dialed Margaret back. “Shannon is going to be my date tonight so the sharks won’t smell blood in the water. But she needs a dress. Probably shoes and a purse, too.” He turned to Shannon. “Right?”

  With her face twisted into an expression of doubt, she gave a reluctant nod.

  “What size do you wear?” he asked, repeating Margaret’s question in his ear.

  “Seven.” She lowered her gaze to her slightly increased waistline. “Or it used to be.”

  “She thinks seven, but that might have changed.” He paused while Margaret spoke. “Great. We should be back at the penthouse within the hour.”

  After disconnecting for a second time, he said, “Margaret’s going to bring some things over for you to try on.”

  The twist of her lips told him she still wasn’t thrilled with the notion of attending a high-priced charity function with him, and he couldn’t say he blamed her. There would be photographers in attendance, and everyone else would be staring and wondering who she was and how she’d managed to wind up as his date for the evening. Little did they know he considered himself the lucky one to have her on his arm.

  Flipping on his turn signal, he pulled to the side of the road and shut off the engine. “Would it make you feel better about going tonight if you got to drive the rest of the way home?”

  One of her brows went up as she watched him, and the corner of her mouth tugged. “Drive your Mercedes?”

  His own lips turned up at her obvious interest in getting behind the wheel of a ninety-thousand-dollar vehicle. “Mmm-hmm.”

  Without a word, she unsnapped her safety belt, jumped out and rounded the hood of the car. He took that to mean they had a deal.

  Whatever kind of elaborate costume she had to squeeze herself into, whatever crazy, embarrassing things might happen tonight, driving Burke’s Mercedes-Benz made it all worth while. My Lord, what a vehicle! She wasn’t even a car person, but it was so sleek, so comfortable and drove so smoothly, she couldn’t help but be a little awed.

  Burke’s faith in letting her drive them back into the city impressed her, too. More often than not, she took the bus or El or walked where she needed to go. For all Burke knew, she could have been out of practice enough to wreck his beautiful luxury car.

  But she hadn’t, and she was still grinning from ear to ear.

  When they arrived at his penthouse, Margaret was already inside waiting for them. Boxes littered every available surface of the living room, and garment bags hung from every available hook.

  “Margaret, you’re a wonder,” Burke told her, pressing a kiss to the older woman’s cheek. “I’ll be in my room changing into the penguin suit.”

  As he passed Shannon, he leaned forward to kiss her cheek, too. “Margaret will take good care of you,” he whispered in her ear. “See you in a bit.”

  Shannon stood motionless, taking in what looked like the results of an uncontrolled shopping spree. And as Burke’s assistant began to remove lids and lower zippers, she became even more amazed.

  “Where did you get all of this? And on such short notice.”

  “When you work for Burke Ellison Bishop, you can get pretty much anything you want, any time you want. And we’ll simply send back whatever you don’t use.”

  “Even the jewelry?” she asked, spotting a dozen open, velvet-lined display boxes, with beautifully designed pieces and bright gems sparkling within.

  “Oh, yes. They’re all on loan.” Margaret shot her a sly grin. “In the hopes that Burke might decide to purchase just one of them.”

  The assistant drew a long, elegant evening gown from one of the garment bags and held it out to Shannon. “Try this one first. Let me know how it fits and what you do or don’t like about it. Then we’ll see how you like the others.”

  Shannon took the dress, carefully draping folds of feather light satin over her arm and taking almost robotic steps toward her room. She felt like Cinderella forced to dress up and go to the ball by her fairy godmother and the prince.

  The dresses were gorgeous, the jewelry dazzling. But they weren’t her. She was a cotton and wool and linen kind of girl, with nothing in her closet more expensive than a lavender tea gown she’d been forced to buy for a friend’s wedding.

  Clipping her hair up and out of the way, she shrugged out of the clothes she’d worn to visit her mother and slithered into the blue sequined gown. It brushed the tops of h
er bare feet and squeezed her breasts together to create a cavern of shadowed cleavage.

  She didn’t think Burke would want to attend his charity event with a woman who looked like she’d stuffed a couple of cantaloupes into the top of her dress, but since she couldn’t be absolutely sure, she dutifully returned to the living room for Margaret’s appraisal.

  “Too tight across the bust and a little snug along the waistline. Probably because of your pregnancy. The color is lovely on you, though.” She took down another hanger and handed it over. “Try this one.”

  Shannon tried on four more dresses before Margaret made her final decision and sent Shannon back into her room with matching shoes and clutch purse, necklace and earrings. She applied her own makeup and swept her hair into a style she hoped would look both elegant and professionally done.

  Twenty minutes later, she tiptoed down the hall, hoping she looked all right and wouldn’t do or say anything to embarrass Burke in front of his friends.

  The leftover dresses and accessories had all been packaged up to be returned, and Margaret sat at the kitchen counter, sipping a cup of tea. Burke stood with his back to the room, checking his tie and cummerbund in the mirror hanging above the fireplace. At the clink of Margaret’s teacup on its saucer and her surprised gasp, he glanced up, then spun around at the sight of Shannon’s reflection.

  God in heaven, she looked amazing. Tall and willowy, her dress glittered in the low light of the room. The drape of black material was decorated with miniscule silver beading in the shapes of leaves and vines. Her three-inch heels held a matching design, and fiery red-gold ringlets fell from her crown to frame a beautiful, heart-shaped face.

  She took his breath away. Literally. His diaphragm clutched, his lungs trembled within his rib cage, and he wanted to burn the vision of her into his brain like a brand. He tried to speak, but his tongue wouldn’t move and his feet felt rooted to the spot.

  Margaret, however, didn’t seem cursed with the same inability to function. She hopped from her stool and rushed over to Shannon, wrapping her in an enormous, motherly hug. “Oh, my dear, you look absolutely breathtaking. I knew that gown would do the trick.” Wiping a smear of her lipstick from Shannon’s cheek, she shot them both a knowing smile and started edging toward the door. “I’ll be leaving now. You two have fun.”

  The click of the door closing behind her snapped Burke out of his frozen state. He blinked and then met the deep green of Shannon’s tentative glance.

  “Margaret’s right. You’re breathtaking,” he said in a low voice. “I just wish I’d been the one to say it first.”

  “If you mean it, I’ll pretend you did.”

  Her fingers moved self-consciously over the individual settings of the diamond necklace circling her long, graceful throat. It and the matching diamond drop earrings were worth half a million dollars. Next to Shannon’s perfect porcelain skin, though, they might have been part of a child’s plastic play jewelry set.

  A spark of awareness arced between them, and he couldn’t resist running the back of his hand slowly along the line of her jaw. “I mean it.”

  He wondered what she would do if he swept her into his arms and carried her to his bed. To hell with the charity dinner. To hell with anything but making love to Shannon and finally, finally putting an end to the torment he’d been suffering since the moment she’d walked into his office two months ago.

  They were so close, the ends of his hair dusted her brow and he could feel her breath on his face. He tilted his head, moving in to touch her mouth lightly with his own. But just when he should have been kissing her, his lips met nothing but air.

  His eyes popped open to find Shannon leaning away, fingering those diamonds and clearing her throat nervously.

  “Shouldn’t we be going?” she asked, as though he hadn’t been about to kiss her and she hadn’t just stomped his ego into the ground.

  He let out a disappointed sigh. “Yes, I guess we should.”

  But on their way out of the apartment, he couldn’t help thinking that when it came to Shannon, he was already gone. Well and truly, way too far gone.

  Eight

  Shannon was surprised at how much she enjoyed the evening. When she and Burke had first arrived, stepping out of the limousine to a shower of flashbulbs going off in their faces, she’d thought it the biggest mistake in the world. Once they’d entered the Four Seasons ballroom, however, and Burke had begun introducing her to more people than she would ever be able to remember, she’d started to relax and have fun.

  Burke fielded the occasional question about where they’d met or how serious he was about her, and for the most part, people assumed she was yet another of his many conquests. It hurt to be grouped in with his former companions, especially after the kiss they’d shared and the sexual tension vibrating between them before they’d left the apartment. But the truth was, she was less than one of his temporary romantic interests. She was his employee. A woman hired to give him a child.

  If anyone at this high-priced affair found out, there would be no end of gossip and media attention. Of course, she didn’t look pregnant, thanks to the dress Margaret had chosen. The bodice fell in soft waves of material that masked her growing bustline and drew the eye away from her waist in case anyone might notice that the gown was just a tad snug in that area.

  Dinner was delicious, and she thought she’d done a fairly good job of using all the right utensils for each course. They were serving dessert now, and Shannon silently toyed with her tiramisu while Burke charmed the elderly matron on his left with a story about his last stay in Tuscany.

  Tuscany, she thought. He’d been three or four minutes into his story before it had even dawned on Shannon that he was talking about vacationing in Italy.

  He was a jet-setter. A wealthy, popular businessman who flew off to exotic locales on a whim.

  She was a lower middle-class student, struggling to support her mother and put herself through school. She couldn’t even picture Tuscany, or find it on the map of Europe if she tried to form it in her head.

  It was embarrassing, even though geography had never been her strong suit. But the fact was, she’d never had a need to know specifically where Tuscany was located, or what type of town it was, because she would never in a million years get the opportunity to travel there.

  Her future was much less complicated. She intended to get her degree in early childhood education, find a job teaching kindergarten or first grade, and hopefully save enough to buy a house where she and her mother could live together. It might not sound like much, especially to the people in this room who had paid a thousand dollars each for a seven-course meal and the chance to rub elbows with others of their ilk. But it was her dream, and it would be enough.

  Beside her, Burke wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin from his lap, then turned to her with a seductive smile. “Dance with me.”

  Startled out of her reverie, she realized she’d been more focused on the curve of his full, attractive mouth than the words coming out of it. “Excuse me?”

  He took her hand as he rose to his feet. “Dance with me.”

  Setting her napkin on the table beside her empty dessert plate, she followed him through the maze of elegantly appointed tables to the polished oak dance floor. A full orchestra played a light, classic rendition of “I’m In the Mood For Love,” and although she didn’t know all the proper steps to this kind of music, she found herself leaning against Burke and simply following his lead.

  He held her close, chest to chest, thigh to thigh. They moved in tandem, swaying back and forth as though they were the only couple on the dance floor. The only two people in the room.

  “Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?”

  Shannon fought her way through the lull of the music and Burke’s soft, possessive hold. She forced her heavy lids open to look him in the eye, and said, “It’s the dress.”

  One side of his mouth quirked upwards. “It’s not the dress. Although that’s
lovely, too, I’m much more impressed by the woman wearing the dress.”

  The first slow song blended into the next as they took another turn around the floor. His splayed hand moved lower on her back, tingling the bare flesh there and shooting sparks of awareness up and down her spine. When he pressed his cheek to hers, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

  She rubbed against the slight sandpapery texture, even though she knew he’d shaved just before they left for the evening. Soft to hard, smooth to rough, woman to man. It was real and right, and she wanted to freeze this moment in time so she could remember it forever.

  Burke’s voice melted in her ear as he nuzzled her lobe and the patch of neck just beneath. “Let me take you home.”

  She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. For one thing, she didn’t want to. Not anymore.

  The orchestra, the atmosphere, Burke’s closeness all meshed together to beat down her defenses. She didn’t care anymore about propriety or keeping her relationship with Burke distanced and professional. She didn’t care about what tomorrow might bring or how many regrets they both might have.

  For once, just once, she wanted to follow her heart. She wanted this adventure, with this man.

  Nodding her head, she gave a faint grin when Burke muttered, “Thank God,” and began to drag her off the dance floor.

  No matter how many people tried to waylay them, he plodded forward, offering polite excuses and making a determined beeline for the street. As soon as he spotted them, Burke’s driver—who was milling around outside with the other drivers—went for the limo, and they were inside in minutes.

  The door slammed closed, Burke hit the button to raise the privacy partition, and she was in his arms before the car even started to roll away from the curb.

  He devoured her mouth, nipping and sucking, thrusting his tongue inside to mate with hers. His broad, long-fingered hands roamed her back, her waist, her arms, her shoulders.