Seduced by the CEO

He liked the feel of her against him.

The crowds had grown thinner as the evening wore on, with fewer kids darting from side to side on the walkway. They passed under strings of decorative, white lights and along yachts moored in the lake. Her hand felt good in his, but he gave in to the urge to wrap his arm around her shoulders again. She slipped hers across his back, and their thighs brushed together while they walked.

He didn’t want the night to end. He wanted to take her home with him, make love to her, sure, but also hold her sleeping in his arms, talk to her over breakfast, maybe plan their Saturday together.

The vision prompted a wave of guilt. She was open and fresh and genuine, while he was a fraud, hiding the most basic of information from her.

Determined to get them on a better footing, he found a clear spot in the crowd. Then he urged her toward the rail, turning her there so they were face to face.

“What now?” Her smile was in place, but she was searching his expression with obvious confusion.

“It’s Ellis,” he said, ignoring his own hesitation. “My last name is Ellis.”

Her smile faded, and she peered at him intently. “Are you in the witness protection program?”

“No.” Where had that come from?

“I thought maybe you’d testified against a crime boss or something.”

“I’m not a criminal.”

“You said you were a thief.”

“Ethanol. From an institution. Probably about ten bucks worth of the stuff.”

Her smile came back, and her voice went sexy and low. “Riley Ellis.”

Something shifted inside him.

She repeated his name.

He kissed her. It was fleeting at first, but then deeper and longer. He loved kissing her. But they were in public, so he forced himself to stop.

He rested his hands on the rails, arms around her, slowing his breathing down. “I promised you fireworks.”

Her eyes were wide and clear, her lips dark red. “You meant in the sky, right? Not the ones going off inside my brain right now.”

His hands twitched. “You have absolutely no sense of self-preservation.”

“And you have no sense of humor.”

“You are not a good girl.”

“I said I was once a good girl.” She planted a quick kiss on his mouth and then ducked under his arm.

He immediately caught her and wrapped his arm around her as they walked. “Okay, now you’re taking all the fun out of the chase.”

“There they go,” she called out as the first red and yellow starbursts banged through the air and lit up the sky.

They quickened their pace, laughing as they went. Riley found them a table at the beer garden, ordering beers and a savory platter.

He angled his chair toward her. He’d seen the fireworks before, but he’d never watched Kalissa watching them. The bright colors reflected off her skin and flashed in her shinning eyes. She was so much more beautiful than the display in the sky.

She caught his gaze and did a double take.

“Hey,” he said softly.

“Hey.”

“How do you like them so far?”

“They’re stunning.”

“Stunning,” he agreed, his gaze fixed on her.

She glanced back at the sky, but then returned her attention to him.

“Want to know what I did yesterday?” she asked.

“Absolutely.” He wanted to know everything about her.

She traced a line along her plastic beer cup. “I met Darci.”

Everything went still inside Riley.

It took him a minute to respond. “Your sister?”

“Yes, my sister. Who else would I be talking about?”

He sat back in his chair.

He’d known this would happen. At one point, he’d even thought it might be good for him. He’d considered that Kalissa might give him some inside information on Shane.

But that was days ago. Now he didn’t want Kalissa talking to the Colborns at all.

Riley definitely wanted to see her again.

But now that she’d met Darci, well, sisters talked, even estranged sisters were likely to talk eventually. And when they did, it was game over for him. Because the minute Shane knew Riley was in her life, he’d do everything in his power to turn her against him.

“How did it go?” he managed to ask.

“It went well, really well. They seem terrific, very down to earth, way more down to earth than I expected.”

“Great,” he said, covering his expression with a drink of his beer.

The fireworks popped and cracked in the distance, and the crowd oohed and aahed. Riley wanted to put his fist through the table.

* * *