The CEO (The Millionaire Malones Book 2) Read online

  And it had nothing to do with his ex-wife, or being lonely or scarred by what had happened in his marriage or any of that shit. He’d met the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. However they’d got to this point, they were there now. He’d spent all the years since he’d first met her thinking of her as Ava the Terrible. Now she was sexy Ava. Dirty Ava. Capable and snarky and hot Ava. Beautiful Ava.

  He picked up his phone.

  Evelyn answered after one ring. ‘Good evening.’ She said it as if she wasn’t surprised that he was ringing her late on a Friday night. He had to do something about that. She deserved to have a life too. After this one request.

  ‘Evelyn. Sorry to bother you this late. I apologise for that. I need to get on the next flight back to Sydney. Can you sort that out?’

  ‘You were supposed to be in Singapore for a few more days. Is everything all right?’ she asked. ‘Has something happened?’

  He smiled at the idea that he had two women in his life who cared enough to ask that question.

  ‘It’s all good. I just need to get home.’ He lifted his suitcase on to the bed and unzipped it.

  ‘Of course, Callum. I’ll email you the details as soon as I make the booking.’ Then there was a characteristic pause, which usually meant Evelyn was going to give him a polite suggestion about what he should do next. ‘You sound … I’m not sure this is right, but you sound happy.’

  ‘Wish me luck, Evelyn,’ he said with a wry grin. ‘Wish me luck.’

  *

  Ava tugged her sheets up to her face and wiped her tears away. She’d tossed her book on to the floor and turned off her bedside lamp. She was lying in the darkness of her lonely room, silent, sad, bewildered by what had just happened and wracked with insurmountable guilt.

  Callum’s words were in her head, twisting and torturing her. I want you. I need you.

  Oh, how she wanted and needed him, too. How she loved him. How she wanted him in her arms and in her bed, laughing with her, teasing her, loving her. And on Monday, precisely two-and-a-half days away, he would be back and she would have to tell him no.

  Because there would always be the elephant in the room between them. And it was Lulu. There would always be the cruel way he’d left his wife—her sister—and the havoc it had caused. And if Ava thought about it more deeply, she knew he wasn’t a safe bet. If he’d left one wife, what were the odds of him doing the same to someone else? To have loved him for so long and then have to cope with losing him? It would be crushing. Oh, she would survive. She would be stronger for it, but that little piece of her heart that she’d held in reserve for him would shrink and die and she would grow suspicious and wary and perhaps never let anyone else in ever again.

  And it was unthinkable to her that she would never have love in her life; that the one person she’d really loved was never going to be hers. There was only one answer: she could never see him again. She’d thought she could work for Callum without falling deeper in love with him. She’d been monumentally wrong.

  She let out a sad sigh and resolved to stop crying. If she and Andy worked all day Saturday, she could finish the job and be out of there.

  Out of Callum’s home and out of his life.

  For good.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‡

  The next morning, Ava stopped on the way to Callum’s house to pick up takeaway coffees and breakfast muffins for her and Andy, and as she waited for him to arrive, she sat in the lowest of the tiered gardens and looked out to the ocean.

  It was another stunning Sydney morning. Out on the water, sail boats bobbed in the waves. Seagulls flew overhead and an elderly man and a black Labrador provided some distracting entertainment for Ava while she ate her breakfast. It was hard to believe there were places in Sydney that had managed to remain this tranquil and secluded. Money talked, she knew that better than anyone, and in a city like Sydney, money didn’t just talk. It shouted. The cut of the cliffs rendered the beaches almost private, unlike Bondi or Manly, and there was no traffic noise. It was the perfect place for a reclusive businessman to hide from the world. Which was good for her, she decided. They didn’t move in the same circles. She wouldn’t inadvertently run into him at a society function or a launch at the Art Gallery or a boardroom luncheon. Once the work here was finished, their paths were destined never to cross again.

  ‘G’morning.’

  Ava looked up. Andy was on the top balcony, looking down at her, like a reverse Romeo and Juliet.

  ‘I have coffee and muffins,’ she called. ‘Still hot.’

  ‘Low fat?’ Andy called to her.

  ‘Of course not. Get down here before your triple-shot espresso gets cold.’

  A few moments later he was at her side and she handed him a white paper bag. ‘Blueberry.’

  ‘My favourite. Thanks.’ Andy took a huge bite. ‘So, I’ve been desperate to know. Tell me all about your blind date.’

  Blind date? Her ill-fated dinner last night seemed like a million years ago. So much had happened since. Things she wasn’t ready to talk about, even with her best friend. Ava looked at him over the top of her sunglasses. ‘Tell me, Andy. Exactly how much did you know about this mysterious Paul before you set us up on the blind date?’

  Andy paused. ‘No chemistry? Funny. I thought you two would be perfect together.’

  Ava managed a laugh. ‘It seems Paul is perfect for anybody … if the price is right.’

  Andy snorted with laughter. ‘You’re kidding me.’

  She sipped her coffee and tore off a chunk from her muffin. Double chocolate. Exactly what she needed to soothe her aching heart. ‘Not kidding.’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Andy laughed and slapped his thigh. ‘Actually, I’m not sorry. That is hilarious. That guy is good. I had absolutely no idea.’

  ‘I’ve got to believe you or I would never trust you again. Ever.’ She smiled at him. She hoped they would be laughing about the blind date from hell when they were old and grey, sitting on a park bench in the middle of the Botanic Gardens, admiring the views and the peace. Andy was that kind of friend for her and maybe he would turn out to be the most significant relationship she would ever have with a man. Which would be okay. Andy was the perfect man. Just not her perfect man.

  ‘If we put in some hours this morning, I reckon you can head off by lunchtime. We need to plant those succulents down there by the stone wall and tidy up. I’ll give everything a once over and plant out the pots on the top balcony.’

  ‘Thanks, Ava. Why the change of plans? Wasn’t this going to wait until Monday?’

  Ava shrugged while intently studying the chocolate chips in her muffin. ‘I want to get this finished. Then we can think about Berowra Waters and a couple of other jobs I have lined up. We’re moving on, Andy. Our time here is done.’

  Andy looked at her with narrowed eyes. ‘Whatever you say, boss.’

  *

  By early afternoon, everything was done. Andy had left and Ava was doing a last-minute check of each tier of the garden before she too would leave. Normally, she would do a handover with the client, take them on a tour of the renovated garden, pointing out all the special features and design tricks she’d employed, and then present her final bill.

  But that wasn’t going to be possible with this job, with this client, with this man.

  Upstairs, the pool was pristine and sparkling. The dark mosaics on the bottom shimmered and blurred in the water and the sides were a brilliant aquamarine blue. It had an infinity edge, with the water lapping over a hidden drain, which gave it the appearance of floating in the sky. The place looked like a resort, which it actually was to any normal person.

  Ava kneeled down on the edge and ran her fingers through the water. It really was deliciously cool. She drizzled droplets of water across her forehead and the relief from her exertion and the heat was palpable and instant.

  And then she got the craziest idea. She was all alone in this stunning house. After today, she would never
see it again.

  And there was a pool.

  She was sweating and hot and there was a pool.

  No-one would ever know.

  She stood, unlaced her work boots and slipped them off, pulled off her thick socks, and unzipped her shorts. She tugged them off, leaving them in a crumpled heap on the slate tiles that surrounded the pool, flicked off her tank top and stood in her bra and knickers. Her plain, sensible skin-coloured bra and knickers because who on earth wore anything fancy when you were working all day in the dirt and your own sweat?

  Her smile became a face-splitting grin. She stripped off her underwear and stood on the edge of the water, naked, the breeze coming off the ocean surrounding her, thrilling her to life at the deliciously risqué thing she was doing.

  She took a deep breath and dived in.

  *

  All Callum wanted to do was dump his suitcase, secure his briefcase and the papers within it in his home office, and then find Ava. He didn’t head directly from the airport to his office in the city, as he usually would when returning from a business trip. He had an entirely different kind of business to take care of.

  He’d meant every word that he’d said to Ava on the phone. Damn the phone. Damn that conversation that had to happen when he was six thousand miles away. He’d challenged her: tell me you don’t want me. She hadn’t denied it. All she said was that they couldn’t. And then something strange, something he couldn’t understand. Something about betraying Lulu.

  There were things they needed to talk about. There were things he needed to say to her. About how he felt. That meeting her had him thinking about a future for the first time in a long time.

  As he turned the corner into his street, he shook off the tiredness he felt. He’d never learnt to sleep on planes, no matter how comfortable first class was. And last night? Knowing that he’d be seeing Ava today? He didn’t sleep.

  Callum checked his watch. It was nearly two in the afternoon. As he turned into his winding street, he spotted her car parked out front.

  He felt something like desire course through him. She was here. A flight of stairs away from his bed, which was better than he’d planned. He needed her. He wanted her in the most ferocious way.

  And he wouldn’t have to waste precious time driving around to Bondi to find her.

  He waited impatiently on the street while his garage door opened and then parked the car with a squeal of brakes. He tugged his keys from the ignition and got out, suddenly full of energy. A couple of flights of stairs later and he was in his living room.

  ‘Ava?’ he called. He didn’t see the balcony doors were closed. He didn’t notice the new black wicker chairs or the large grey pots filled with cycads placed strategically along one of the walls. He strode across the room, slid open the doors to the balcony and stepped out.

  That’s when he heard something. A splashing from the pool below.

  Callum walked to the balcony railing and peered over the side.

  He gripped the cool metal of the balcony railing.

  Holy fuck.

  *

  Ava had closed her eyes against the warm afternoon sun and was singing to herself, wafting her arms back and forth at her sides to keep afloat. Her voice echoed under the water as if she were wearing headphones and that made her smile. What a glorious feeling and what a beautiful place, she thought. It wasn’t a bad way to end this part of her life, to officially close the book on her years of obsession with Callum Malone, by literally washing herself clean of him.

  On Monday, her life would start a new chapter. She would work with every fibre of her being to be over Callum, to put him in her past where he belonged. Because no matter how much he wanted her and she wanted him, wanting didn’t mean it would happen or should happen. Fate and timing had cruelly teased her once again.

  When she drew in a long deep breath and opened her eyes, she blinked against the brightness of the sky. She and Andy had done a wonderful job and she was sure Callum would love it. Perhaps this place would now feel like a home to him. The grassed tier was complete and looked cool and fresh. The succulent garden below now had a stone path leading to the beach, and up above on the living room balcony, there were comfy chairs and three big pots. And a special surprise from her: a rectangular, black cement planter box filled with abundant and fragrant herbs for the reality TV-trained chef.

  Ava looked up to the balcony. She had created a beautiful, relaxing place for Callum to sit and relax after a long day being a chief executive. She wondered if he’d notice the herb garden. She hoped he would and perhaps think of her and the dinner they’d shared. And maybe he’d remember that kiss, too.

  She knew she would never forget it. She would remember the taste of his lips forever.

  She felt a shiver. It was clearly time to get out and go home. Ava took a deep breath and took one last dive deep down, to run her fingers along the mosaics on the pool floor. When her lungs hurt from holding her breath, she surfaced.

  To find Callum standing on the edge of the pool.

  Holy fuck. Something slammed in her chest. Shock, desire and her burning, aching, all-consuming lust for this man all merged into something that felt like courage.

  ‘Looks good in there.’

  And hot damn he looked good out there. His suit was crumpled and his tie was loose. He had a white towel draped over one shoulder. His hair was an unruly mess and there was a shadow of growth on his jaw that Ava desperately wanted to stroke. The dark and intense look on his face revealed that he’d seen her body, that he knew she was naked. It echoed his words on the phone from Singapore: I want you.

  And she was naked.

  And he looked so, so hot.

  And this was her last chance, ever, to be with him.

  The only man she had ever really loved.

  The One. The only one.

  ‘You weren’t supposed to be back until Monday,’ Ava managed as she found her feet and crouched down a little so the waterline tickled at her neck.

  He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to.

  Callum pulled his tie from his collar and dropped it on the ground. Then he slowly undid those shining pearl buttons on his shirt and, inch by inch, his chest was revealed to her. His eyes never left hers. He was putting on a show for her and it was the hottest damn thing she’d ever seen. His shirt hit the ground and he kicked off his shoes as he reached for the zip on his trousers.

  He wanted her. He was coming to get her. And she didn’t want to stop him.

  When he was naked, proud and magnificent, she took in every inch of him, all hard muscle and curved shoulders and flat planes and ridges. Her mouth went dry and her vagina got wet.

  This was her only chance.

  She was going to have this man. She was going to touch him wherever she wanted and she was pretty damn sure he was going to consume every inch of her, too. Please God, let that be his plan. He watched her watching him and that dark look became a grin. And when she looked down to his cock she realised why. It was rock hard and aiming high.

  ‘Well?’ She found her feet and stood in the chest-deep water, aware that her breasts were now in full view. ‘You coming in or what?’

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‡

  Callum dived in and emerged from the water right in front of her. He pushed his wet hair back from his forehead and moved in so close she could see the fine droplets on his long eyelashes, his wet mouth, the water slick on his neck and shoulders.

  ‘We filled the pool,’ she said, slicking her long hair away from her face and twisting it into a ponytail over one shoulder. It draped down over one breast and he traced the line of it with his eyes, direct to her nipple. She clenched her thighs together to contain the heat burning her up from the inside.

  ‘I noticed.’

  ‘We need to talk,’ she murmured, and she was so interested in his answer she lowered her gaze to his lips. His full, beautiful wet lips.

  ‘Not now, Ava.’ Callum began circling her, his arms movi
ng back and forward in the water, so close, a ripple away, teasing her, and she held her breath. Then he was behind her and she could feel the pressure of his body through the water and then, holy God, he was whispering in her exposed ear, his breath on her neck, his lips brushing against her earlobe.

  ‘What we need to do is fuck before I explode.’ Callum slid his hands around her waist and then moved down, gripping her hips, and pressed his magnificent throbbing cock hard against her back.

  She turned to face him and when she saw his dark eyes trained on her, she knew she wanted this, that she was ready for this. Without thinking or second-guessing, without the guilt she’d borne for years, she gave in to what was in his body and in his eyes and in his voice. She threw her arms around his neck, and held on as she lifted herself against him, spreading her legs and gripped them around his waist. She crushed her breasts up against his chest, slick and wet and so, so hot.

  Callum hands found her butt and he pulled her in closer, so tight she felt crushed, barely able to breathe.

  He was right. They didn’t need to talk about this.

  Ava crashed her lips against his mouth, fierce and hungry and aching for him, desperate for every inch of his body to be against hers, and he was right there, matching her, tongues clashing, his lips rough and demanding on hers. She gripped his hair and held on as the water rippled around them and her sex grazed and throbbed against his belly; his cock pushing up against her, too. And there was nothing in her head except him and the fantasy of him that she’d been living with all these years.

  But he wasn’t a fantasy now. Callum Malone was very real and all man and she wanted him, more than breathing. But when he tried to enter her, his full width and length so close, she moved her hips back.