Wickedly Wicked

Chapter Seven

As they quit the building, Thomas steered her towards his car, Aston Martin. The sleek black beauty was just like his owner, sharp yet understated.

"Where do you live now?" he asked.

She muttered the directions to her place.

Thomas got behind the wheel once she had settled. At the turn of the ignition, the engine roared to life with a soft, powerful hum. He cruised the car out on the road into the bumper-to-bumper traffic that crawled at a snail's pace.

"Looks like we're stuck in the rush hour." He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

"My house is out of your way. I can take the bus home," Lilliana said. Sitting close to him, in the confined area, was muddling her senses. She started to undo her seat belt.

"You'll do no such thing," Thomas said, barely containing his ire. "As I said, I'll drop you home and I will."

The no-nonsense look on his face set her on edge. In the space of time it took to leave the highway and the gridlock behind, Lilliana had all but ripped the fabric of her dress.

Breaking the crushing silence between them, Thomas asked, "Who's Larissa Braxton?"

Lilliana looked askance.

"It's on your business card."

"My business partner, she and I went to university together. You have met her. We used to be roommates in the first and then the last year at NYU."

"I sort of recall her." Thomas nodded, his eyes fixed on the busy road ahead. When the car stopped in front of a traffic light, he asked, "When did you get into jewellery designing? I thought you wanted to design buildings. Why the career change?"

"Me too, but my heart wasn't in it anymore." She shoved her disappointment away, realizing he didn't know who her best friend was. He had even failed to notice how she had abhorred her old job with the passion of a thousand burning suns.

"When did you start your company?"

"Five years ago." 

"Around when I got married." Thomas added the two and two together. "Hmm, it appears so much has happened since then. I took over SHI, though my father resisted the idea in the beginning."

"Yes, somewhere then," she affirmed, casting her eyes down, afraid he would see the truth.

When he had gotten hitched, Lilliana had picked herself up from the crossroads and lived her life without looking at the rear mirror. But, at the time, it had felt like her heart had been ripped from her chest, and she would never be whole again.

"No wonder I didn't know about this latest venture of yours, we didn't talk much after that."

"I've been busy," she lied. Would he call her out for forsaking him?

To her relief, he didn't.

Several minutes later, Thomas entered her neighbourhood dotted with detached homes and manicured lawns. He pulled up before her house with blue exteriors, earning admiring glances from passersby. 

Leave it to him to attract attention like bees to honey, she thought with amusement.

In a split second, he dismounted and hurried over to her side. The passenger door opened and, rather than stepping aside, he stood rooted to the spot.

Lilliana made to unfasten the seat belt, but his strong hand covered hers, stopping her. 

"Have dinner with me?" 

Her traitorous heart galloped a mile.

Thomas swept his fingers up her arm, stroking her skin with heady touches. It felt like heaven. Well, almost. The sweet torment nudged her to the precipice of her sanity. When he removed his hand, she breathed a little.

Holy crap. He's flirting with me. 

"Aren't you going to read it?" He gestured to her hand.

She glanced down. Like an idiot, she held the card, which she had snatched from the nosy Jane's clutches. Its crumpled state taunted her.

Thomas leaned closer, their bodies now merely inches apart. Deep-bone warmth seeped into her skin. The rascal knew what he was doing. He was trying to persuade her through seduction. 

To buy more time, she unfurled the card and read, "Say yes, my Lilliana." Her head shot up. She squeaked, "I'm not yours." Brilliant. Her voice was damn shaky, like a mouse. Where was the roar of the lioness?

Something akin to satisfaction and stark need flared in his eyes, glazing them, but in a blink, those baby blues turned soulful. "You wrote 'Your Lilliana' on the business card before you crossed it out. You used to write it."

"A foolish habit, but we're all grown up now." Lilliana tried to sound indifferent. Her gaze fell on his full, firm lips. Suddenly, those lips curved into a knowing smile. Shit. She looked up. Her whole body flushed hydrant red at being caught ogling him.

"Oh, we're all grown up." His eyes speared hers before they trail blazed over her body, setting her skin and everything on fire. "How about I will be yours for a night? Say yes."

Say no, Lilliana. The little voice of reason inside her head screamed at her.

"I'll persist until you say yes. You should know this better than anyone." His voice was all steel, wrapped in sensuality. 

"Only one dinner." Lilliana just wanted to take refuge in her house to get a grip on the situation.

His lips turned up into a Cheshire smile as he bent to unbuckle her with contrived deliberateness. 

She bit back a gasp at the feel of his breath on her neck.

"There you go."

Her eyes fluttered open. He stood to his full height, looking pleased.

Jerk.

Given there was a distance between them, she filled her lungs with fresh air. Indignation rose inside her at how she had put up no fight. And he knew it, too.

Why was it that he could still toy with her? She wasn't the silly, naïve girl anymore, but a businesswoman who bloody negotiated with the shrewd lenders, tough customers and God knows who. And yet she was letting this man play her false again.

Getting out of the car, she rushed to the front steps with Thomas at her heels. After fishing for the house keys, she opened the red door, surprised that she had kept it together.

"I'll send you the details for dinner later," he informed her. His confidence rankled her.

"Right," she managed to say. He hesitated before bending as if to kiss her cheek, but Lilliana, perhaps from the shock, pulled away. 

Thomas blinked at her reaction. His expression became shuttered.

"I guess I'll see you around." Without waiting for his response, she hurried inside for the sanctity of the entry hall. Slamming the door shut, she sank against it, touching her cheeks with her hands. They were flushed with excitement. A muffled groan spilled from her lips.