Scandalous. Lori Foster

never before seen her sense of humor; usually it was her determination to get ahead that she presented at a business meeting. He felt a touch of warmth at the sound of her laughter, then gave her an exasperated look and continued. “I deliver my sperm and they…well, I suppose it’s much like visiting your gynecologist. Only instead of doing whatever it is they usually do, my sperm will be artificially planted—inseminated, it’s called—and then we’ll wait to see if it takes.”

      Olivia chewed her lips, then said slowly, “It sounds rather distasteful.”

      “I’ll admit it isn’t quite the way nature intended a woman to be impregnated, but it is certainly less personal, which is the main objective.”

      “Why?”

      Her pointed look and bald question confused him. “Why what?”

      “Why does it have to be so impersonal? Why can’t you just…do it?”

      “Do it?”

      She made a sound of disgust. “Just impregnate the woman of your choice by nature’s design.”

      He knew what she was asking, and felt an instant, unwanted tightening in his loins. Lust, damnable lust. He swallowed. “I want this to be as much of a business dealing as possible. Getting naked…” He felt himself harden and had to clear his throat. “Making love to a woman isn’t at all a business proposition. It’s very personal.”

      Olivia seemed relaxed now, arrogantly so, and somehow determined. Tony knew she was aware of his unease, and planned to take advantage of it—as any good businesswoman would do. She nodded, a pseudo show of understanding. Then she smiled. “I see.”

      He felt a twinge of anger at her for prodding him. “I should hope so.”

      “I believe I’ll take your advice and think all this over. You said you don’t want to hear from me until Monday?”

      “I…” He had no idea what had come over her. She wasn’t acting the way he’d expected, she wasn’t even acting in a way he could have guessed or anticipated. He felt stymied. “You don’t have to wait if you come to a decision before then.”

      “I think I probably will make up my mind before then. How about if I give you my decision tomorrow evening?”

      He nodded, stiff-backed now, and forced a smile. He knew by her amused expression that she wasn’t fooled, and that she was thoroughly enjoying his discomfort. “I’ll give you my home number.”

      “No. I got the feeling you didn’t want the fertile woman who would serve your needs to intrude on your life.” He started to speak, but she forestalled him, her tone not nearly so sarcastic now. “Why don’t I just give you my number instead—my privacy isn’t nearly as threatened as your own. You can call me. Say, seven o’clock tomorrow?”

      With her small chin raised, her straight nose in the air, she looked as proud and gutsy and almost as arrogant as he. She looked magnificent to him, and he merely nodded, distracted by thoughts of her feminine body rounded by his babe. They would make a beautiful, healthy child together. He reached out and touched her chin. “I wouldn’t mind if the baby was a boy or a girl. I don’t remember if I told you that.”

      She smiled, and seemed to relax again despite herself. “You didn’t. But I had the impression it wouldn’t matter.” Then she went to his desk and picked up the gold pen from the marble holder and scrawled her home number across the desk pad.

      “I had your number in my files.”

      “This way, you won’t have to look it up.”

      He felt awkward now, but Olivia didn’t seem to be suffering any such problems. She gave him a small salute.

      “I’ll be going home now. It’s getting late, and I do have quite a bit to think over.”

      “I’ll be a good father, Olivia.” He hadn’t meant to say that. He hadn’t planned on trying to convince her what a good person he was. But he wanted the baby so badly, now, before he got any older, before he was left all alone in the world.

      Again, she didn’t mock him.

      “I never doubted it.” She looked almost sad, which didn’t make any sense. “Tomorrow at seven, Tony.” And then she was gone.

      CHAPTER TWO

      OLIVIA LAY IN BED that night, despising herself. She was a fraud and a manipulator and the worst kind of person for taking advantage of another. Tony had no idea the type of woman he was dealing with.

      She’d known since she was sixteen that she would never have children. For her, it was physically impossible.

      In the hospital, only hours before Olivia’s mother had slipped away, she had explained about the condition that robbed her daughter of that particular function. Olivia wasn’t a whole woman, could never lead a whole life. Having children was as beyond her as it was for Tony. And so she’d made her business her life. It was the only life she’d ever have.

      Swallowing hard, Olivia felt the sting of tears as she recalled going to the hospital as a very young girl, her belly cramping painfully, the bleeding. It had been horrible, being examined by a male doctor. Beyond the pain, she’d felt violated and mortified. And then there were the days after when her mother and father had been so quiet, so withdrawn. She hated hospitals now, and she wouldn’t go to the doctor unless it was absolutely necessary.

      She thought she’d successfully put the past behind her, that she’d buried the wishes that couldn’t come true. But now, with Tony’s proposition, they all came flooding back. She wanted to be loved, to have children, to be desired by a special man who would accept her as a sensual woman.

      She couldn’t do anything about the first two wishes, but the third was a possibility.

      It was rumored that Tony was an exceptional lover. She couldn’t deny that the information had given her a few private fantasies of her own. After all, despite everything, she was still a woman, and on occasion, she’d seen him strictly as a man. But intimacy was something she’d neither expected nor wanted from Tony.

      Until she’d heard his plan.

      And now it was all she could think about. Tony obviously admired her, and that was something. It wasn’t love, but it was a far cry from a totally detached sexual experience. She cared about Tony, thought he was a beautiful person and a very sexy man. And he wanted her as the mother of his child.

      That was a precious gift all on its own, the highest of compliments.

      Tony didn’t have to know that she’d never be able to conceive a child, that she was infertile. She could insist on doing things the “natural” way, allow him to try his manly best for a couple of weeks, then confess it wasn’t happening. He’d go on his way, none the wiser, find another woman, and have his baby by his designated time. She had not a single doubt of his eventual success. There were numerous women out there who would be more than willing to oblige him.

      But he’d approached her, and she couldn’t quite send him on his way. Not yet. Hearing him discuss his sperm in such a casual way, and talk of impregnating her as if he was referring to buying her coffee, had been somehow very arousing. Long dormant feelings had seemed to swell without her consent, and when she’d pictured him “supplying” his sperm, pictured the process necessary to such a deed, she’d felt a sexual heat at the image, along with an emotional tenderness that he wanted a child so badly. Together, the two feelings had conspired against her better sense.

      She’d read every article she could ever find on him, and they were numerous. She’d tried to follow in his footsteps, as impossible as that seemed, because he was too dynamic, too overwhelming. And also, he loved his family, when she didn’t even have a family to claim.

      He was a good man, in every sense of the word. And she planned to corrupt him for her own purposes.

      She was a fraud, but she wouldn’t actually be hurting anyone.