Pregnant By The Rival Ceo

Jacob shook his head and started the car. The engine roared, quickly calming to a low and even hum. “I figured this made for more quality time to catch up. No prying eyes.”

Anna swallowed hard as Jacob expertly zipped into the confusion of cars whizzing by. “Oh. Sure.”

“I trust my driver, but he’s only been with me a few months and you never know. I’ve been burned before by people who talk behind my back. This way, it’s one less person who knows what we’re doing.”

She nodded. What we’re doing. What in the heck were they doing? Tempting fate? Undoubtedly. If Adam found out about this, especially before she had a chance to be out in front of it, he wouldn’t merely go ballistic. He would explode into millions of pieces, only after he was certain she and Jacob were in the bull’s-eye of the blast zone. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“Look, the last thing I want is for you to end up in the doghouse with your brother. We have legitimate reasons to explore this business venture, but we need to put some real numbers together before you can entertain it seriously. If this meeting doesn’t go well, no harm, no foul. Adam never needs to know it happened.”

“Sounds reasonable to me.” The covert nature of their trip was appealing for practical reasons, but misbehaving was its own temptation. She was always the good girl, always did what was expected of her. For once she could deviate from plan, even if her confidence about it wavered. She didn’t like deceiving anyone, especially not her family.

That didn’t change the fact that she had to get Adam’s attention and shake him out of the mindset that she wasn’t ready to take over as CEO. Jacob had become her very unlikely ticket to doing that. She had to wonder if money was Jacob’s only motivation, or if he thought this deal might show Adam that he’d made a mistake by ending their working relationship. He certainly seemed focused on the business aspect. Telling her to bring her bathing suit was probably a slip or Jacob being a good host. It was hard to imagine it was anything else.

There was a big part of her, however, that wished there was something else. She never did well with the idea of possibilities left unexplored. The night she kissed Jacob, she’d already spent many nights imagining what came next, of what it would be like to have his hands all over her, to share the same bed with him. When he’d cut it short, she couldn’t help but feel as though she’d been robbed of something. That was difficult to let go.

She glanced over at Jacob as he fiddled with the satellite radio while navigating the snarl of traffic leaving the city. His profile was endlessly enthralling. She could’ve sat there and studied his strong, dark brows or his uncannily straight nose for hours. That would only lead to the examination of his perfect lips, the way his angular jaw was accentuated by his well-groomed scruff. It would be so nice to trail her finger along the line from his ear to his chin, kiss him again and see if he wanted to explore their unfinished business.

But what if he’d only used Adam as an excuse, a means of covering up the fact that he hadn’t wanted to kiss her at all? If she tried anything a second time, he might be honest with her. That would be brutal.

He turned and narrowed his focus on her for an instant, making her heart leap into her throat. “Everything okay?”

She nodded, swallowing back a sigh. “Oh, sure. I was just wondering how long the drive is.”

He looked back over his shoulder and sped up, changing lanes like a man who wasn’t about to let anyone get in his way. The scent of his cologne wafted to her nose, making her lose her bearings. “Five hours. Four and a half if I can get out of traffic.” He reached across and patted her on the leg, the width of his palm and fingers spanning her thigh. “Sit back and enjoy the ride.”

She stared down at her lap, the place where he’d left an invisible scorching-hot handprint. Five hours? Alone in a car with Jacob? She’d be on fire by the time they got there.

Four (#ulink_d9e471c0-6444-5a78-858e-94f3c2550667)

In the years since he’d graduated from Harvard Business School, the only time Jacob had mixed business and pleasure was right now—taking Anna away for the weekend. Time alone in the car with her had quickly illustrated that being with her made things muddy, messy. Nothing was clear-cut and that made him nervous. Considering the game he was playing with LangTel stock, getting close to Anna was dangerous. It wasn’t just playing with fire. It was tantamount to walking a tightrope over an active volcano.

But the fire was so tempting—her sweet smell, the way she pulled out her ponytail and redid it when she was thinking about something. He’d struggled to keep his eyes on the road. The deep blue turtleneck she wore was maddening. His brain wouldn’t stop fixating on trying to remember the exact arrangement of freckles on her chest. And then there were the jeans. Sure, he’d held the car door to be a gentleman, but he’d committed every curve to memory, frame by frame, as she’d climbed inside his car.

Finally at their destination, he turned from the main road and stopped between the pair of towering stone pillars flanking the entrance to his estate. Cool autumn air rushed in when he rolled down the window to punch in the security code. Silently, the wrought iron gate rolled aside, granting entry into his retreat, a world that intentionally bore no resemblance to the one they’d left behind in Manhattan. The fall leaves blazed with a riot of brilliant orange and rust and gold. The trees rustled with a stiff breeze, leaves breaking free from their branches, some landing on the hood and windshield, the rest drifting until they came to rest on the white crushed-stone driveway.

The massive house stood sentry at the head of a circular parking area.

“Wow,” she muttered, leaning to the side and peering out her window as he parked the car. “It’s so gorgeous, Jacob. And huge.”

Surely Anna had been to impressive estates, but she seemed quite taken with what he had to offer her for the weekend—pristine grounds, crisp, white clapboards wrapping the spires at each corner of the house, a wide sweep of stone stairs leading to the front door, flanked by hand-leaded windows. His pride swelled. He couldn’t help it. He’d impressed her and he was glad that he had.

“The house was built in the twenties. I had it completely remodeled when I bought it three years ago.” As much as he loved his job, it was a pressure cooker, and being in Manhattan only exacerbated it. “I figured it was a good investment and I wanted a getaway that would always be here. Something I could depend on. Something comfortable.”

Jacob snatched up the keys in his hand and climbed out of the car. He didn’t make it around in time to open Anna’s door for her, but he was able to grab her overnight bag before she had the chance to do so. He wanted to at least do some things for her. In fact, he’d purposely called the house’s caretaker and asked him to give them a wide berth this weekend. There would already be his cook and housekeeper around.

“Seems like a lot of space for one person,” Anna said, as they made their way to the front door. “How often do your parents come to visit?”

Family was such an integral part of Anna’s life. It was probably impossible for her to fathom an existence that didn’t revolve around it. “You’d be surprised.” He opened the door and ushered her inside, placing their bags on a bench in the spacious foyer.

“A lot, then?”

He shook his head. “No. Not much at all. Especially not my dad. My mom will come for a weekend once a year, but she’s antsy the whole time she’s here. I think she probably learned that from my dad.” As hard as Jacob liked to work, he had seen his dad take it too far. He made a point of relaxing when he came up here, but that almost exclusively involved getting his hands dirty. Very dirty. He’d have to show Anna his collection after he’d shown her the house.

Anna turned and frowned. “Don’t you get lonely up here?”

Jacob was so accustomed to being alone that it didn’t faze him at all, but he was smart enough to know that most people didn’t live that way. Especially not a Langford. “I won’t be lonely this weekend. That’s all that matters right now.” He chided himself the instant the words were out of his mouth. Why couldn’t he answer, “no”? Why was flirtation and leading answers his inclination? He wasn’t the guy who had trouble turning off this aspect of his personality. He was usually far more in control.

Anna flushed with the most gorgeous shade of pink. “That’s a great way of thinking.”

The urge to cup the side of her face and sweep his thumb across the swell of her cheek bubbled up inside him. Stuffing his hands in his pockets was the only way to stop himself. He wasn’t about to cross that line. He needed to get a grip and wrap his head around everything he was fighting in his mind. When he’d been irate with Adam, it was easy to imagine getting back at him by seducing his sister. But then he’d picked her up at her apartment and he was quickly reminded of two things—Adam’s sister was a woman he cared about, and a path that led to intimacy was not to be taken lightly. A smart man would insist that the risk was not worth the reward, even if the reward did look stunning in her blue sweater.

As in all business, detachment was the most proven tack. For the moment, it meant focusing on his head and ignoring his body. There was a very clear answer to the question of what his body wanted—Anna. He couldn’t even fathom what might happen if he made a move. Would she cast away her brown eyes in shyness or would she have the courage to meet his gaze and tell him what she wanted? If he could have anything right then and there, he would’ve loved to know what she was thinking. Why was she here? What was driving her? Was it really as simple as wanting to broker a big deal? Or was there something else?

He cleared his throat. “Allow me to give you the tour.”

Anna nodded and he led the way.

* * *

Anna had grown up amidst wealth and splendor, but Jacob’s house was truly remarkable—beautifully refinished wood floors, a refined mix of modern furnishings and antiques, every surface impeccable and of the finest quality. Even her mother would’ve been a bit envious, and Evelyn Langford devoted an awful lot of time and resources to feathering her nest.

They returned to the front door, and Anna assumed they were going to go upstairs to see the bedrooms. Instead, Jacob handed over her coat. “I have something I want to show you in the garage.”

The garage? He was aware she knew what a lawn mower looked like, wasn’t he? “Okay. Sure.”

They walked along a wide flagstone walkway, past the swimming pool and tennis courts. Beyond was an enormous outbuilding. Practically a warehouse, with a keypad entry and a security system Jacob had to disarm once they were inside. He flipped a succession of switches and the lights flickered on, one by one, across the massive room. Anna gasped.

It was an homage to motorized travel—seven or eight very expensive-looking cars, all black, and at least two dozen motorcycles. The entire room was spotless— polished concrete floors, not a speck of dust or dirt anywhere. Chrome gleamed. The aroma of motor oil and tooled leather swirled around her, a smell she’d never anticipated could be so appealing. She’d had men show off collections before—art, autographed baseballs. One guy owned what she’d thought was a dizzying array of antique chess sets. Talk about dizzying—Jacob’s display of testosterone-fueled fascination was enough to make her head swim.

“Jacob, wow. I can’t even...” Anna paced ahead slowly, Jacob right behind her. She was mesmerized, but afraid to touch the wrong thing. “They’re incredible.”

They stood before a bike with a worn but polished brown leather seat. “This is my hobby. Everything is vintage. Nothing built after 1958. Some of them I’ve bought from other collectors, but quite a few were falling apart when I got them. They were a lot of work, but I love it.”

She folded her hands. Jacob loomed behind her, so close. She could feel the measured rhythm of his breaths even when she couldn’t see him. “You do the actual repairs?”

“Is that hard to believe?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just surprised you know how to do it, that’s all.”

He let out a breathy laugh. “At first, it was the challenge of teaching myself how to do it. I was very motivated to learn. Now it’s simply that I don’t trust anyone with these. They’re prized possessions and that means I keep them all to myself.”

“Well, they’re just incredible. Truly beautiful. I’m very impressed.”

He stepped over to a bike in the center of the front row, swung his long leg over the seat and straddled it. “This one is my favorite. A Vincent Black Shadow. Very collectible.” The motorcycle popped back off its kickstand, bounced in place a few times under his weight. His hands—good God, his hands—gripped the handles in a way that said he didn’t merely know how to care for the machinery. He knew how to ride.

“Take me out,” she blurted.

He smirked, his eyes crinkling at the corner. “It’s cold out there. You’ll freeze.”