The Millionaire’s Ultimate Catch by Michelle Monkou Page A

Everything about him pulled her, drawing her interest with a tantalizing invitation—the velvet chocolate skin tone was a backdrop to piercing eyes hooded with thick eyebrows that subtly twitched with his varied expressions. The long line of his nose descended into a peak that begged for her finger to trace its strong outline. His square jawline helped frame the distinctive face, angled by the high sculpted cheekbones. Again and again, his mouth had its own power and strength to draw her attention. She took a deep breath with the constant mental refrain to be cool.
    Without warning, he stood and held her arms. The playful expression vanished and he looked into her eyes. She struggled to rid her mind of the feel of his touch. Maybe she should stop looking into the dark eyes and allowing her thoughts to run a little too wild.
    Her gaze brushed over his nose down to his full, wide mouth. All she wanted to do was kiss those lips. She wanted to touch them with her lips, her tongue.
    His arms slid from her arms to around her body, ever so gently. He lowered his mouth to hers and after a moment’s hesitation launched an all-out capture ofher mouth. To have her imagination turn into a reality suited her fine. His kiss softly awakened her mouth with a buzz to the senses that didn’t require an introduction. She kept her arms tucked in at her side, not wanting any pain to distract from the moment. While he softly attended to her mouth, she enjoyed the slight twitch of his muscles on her kneading touch. Her enjoyment was like a heady aftereffect from a good wine. She couldn’t stop even if she wanted.
    “You’re beautiful,” he remarked. He had to say something to give his body time to stand down.
    “I know. So keep kissing me.”
    Her response drew his laugh. But he didn’t wait to see if she was serious. If she thought he wouldn’t follow through on her directive, then she didn’t really understand him. She didn’t realize that he wanted more than a stolen kiss or a brief unexpected acquaintance.
    He kissed her with renewed passion, allowing his mouth to tell his story without words.
    If he planned this correctly, the first thing he couldn’t do was get caught getting fresh with his mother’s guest. He drew away from the warmth of her lips. And because he couldn’t help himself, added a final peck. “You’ve got to stop throwing yourself at me like that or I may get banished from the family kingdom.”
    “You are a devil with a lowercase d.” She pushed away from him and he released her.
    “I’ll take that as a term of endearment.” To eliminate his fixation on the empty feeling where she recently stood, he folded his arms. “I think we should reunite with the others, don’t you?”
    She straightened her hair and pulled at her shirt. Her eyes accused him but didn’t hold any animosity. Hesensed a rebuke forming, but he didn’t allow her the opportunity to say anything. He walked ahead of her and then paused in the doorway for her to follow. As she walked past him, he lightly brushed her hair, which was tousled on the side. Then he dropped his hand balled into a fist.
    His cell phone rang. The spell broke, especially when he saw who called. He mouthed “sorry” and headed off to a quiet area to have the not-so-nice discussion with his business partner.
    In the meantime, she had to tell her grandma that she’d changed her mind. She’d be staying for another week. Somehow, she didn’t think that her grandmother would object.
    Zack headed back to his office, his face set in a grim mask of anger. His assistant met him at the door. She shook her head slightly. He picked up on the warning and didn’t ask what was on her mind. Instead, he stepped into the waiting area and looked around expecting to see the businessman who gave him heartburn.
    “Jamison is in the conference room,” Rachel, his assistant, said.
    He nodded and headed down the hallway. He opened the door and spied his business partner with another