The Perfect Proposal (16 page)

Dumbfounded, Annie looked at Mitch.
Thoroughly pleased with himself, Mitch lolled his head back and
hooted at the ceiling.

“
I don’t know why you’re so
happy,” Annie told him. “Personally, I’d be a little worried if I
discovered I could think like Les Peters.”

That halted his little chuckle-fest and the
most comical expression came over his face, throwing Annie into a
round of hysterics herself. Finally, her laughter ended in a
comfortable silence. Annie sighed contentedly and sipped her
coffee. Mitch’s suddenly thoughtful expression softened his rugged
features. Firelight danced across his face, making him look even
handsomer and leaving an impression of incredible strength.

He turned to her then. His compelling gaze
made her want to lean closer to him. “Annie, would you mind if I
asked you a question?”

“
That depends.”

Mitch hesitated. “All this time we’ve been at
odds over Hightower. But we’ve never talked about why.”

Annie stiffened. Though she longed to
understand Mitch’s motivation, she had no desire to discuss her
own. Annie recognized the lie in that thought immediately.
Truthfully, she had the most disconcerting urge to share her
thoughts with him. That was odd in itself, considering she’d never
even allowed herself to confide in a girlfriend. The only person
Annie had ever had a close relationship with had been Will, and,
she supposed, then only because he seemed to need her as much as
she needed him. Which brought her back to why she was here. “I
would think that would be obvious.”

“
To a degree,
yes.”

Annie sighed impatiently. “Mitch, given the
circumstances, I don’t think this is a conversation we should be
having.”

“
I disagree,” Mitch told
her. “We both love my uncle and the company. I should think that
would be reason enough to discuss our objectives.” Mitch blew out a
resigned breath. “I’m not trying to pick a fight, Annie. I just
wanted to know.”

If Mitch had been belligerent, Annie might
have been able to refuse his request. The sincerity she heard
proved to be her undoing. Really, what could it hurt? Les had
already told him a lot about her life. At this point, what would a
few vague comments about her motivation hurt?

Annie heaved a put-upon sigh. “Oh, all right.
We’ll discuss it. But on one condition—you go first. Why did you
suddenly decide that you wanted to run the company? she asked
bluntly.

Mitch shot her a look and a chuckle rose from
his throat. “I guess it was a little sudden, wasn’t it?”

Annie nodded. “You hadn’t made an appearance
in five years. Your bid for the CEO position was a surprise to me.
So what prompted you?”

Mitch gazed at her. “You want the truth?”

“
No,” Annie deadpanned.
“Tell me a lie. Of course I want the truth!”

Mitch chuckled at her, then his face grew
somber. He stared at the fire until Annie feared he’d changed his
mind about confessing.

“
My best friend died,” he
said at last.

Of all the reasons Mitch might have uttered,
this was not one she had considered. The pain he’d managed to pack
into that brief admission made Annie’s heart ache. “I’m sorry.”

“
Nick and I had been friends
since college,” he continued. “He was like the brother I never had,
and my partner at Micronet. A damn good one, a good man as well.”
Mitch paused, remembering his friend. “He was thirty-two, Annie. My
age.“ He shoved a hand through is hair. “Not old enough to even
think about dying.” Mitch took a deep breath. “Anyway, Nick’s death
made me rethink my priorities. Hightower became important to me.”
He smiled sadly. “And you know the rest of the story.”

For whatever reason, knowing that Mitch
hadn’t made an impulsive decision to take over the leadership of
his family’s company made Annie feel infinitely better about him.
At least now if he won this blasted contest, she wouldn’t have to
worry about him abandoning it again. She imagined he would do right
by William and Hightower Advertising.

Still, Annie suddenly wished she and Mitch
hadn’t started this conversation. How was she supposed to remain
objective and do her best to win if her heart felt heavy every time
she considered what he now stood to lose?

Disheartened, Annie told herself she wasn’t
responsible for Mitch’s happiness. Only her own. That’s the way it
had always been. All for one and one for me, she thought sadly.
Funny how that old motto which had always provided such cynical
comfort did nothing to lift her spirits now.

“
So what about you?” Mitch
asked, interrupting her melancholy thoughts.

Forcing her lips into a semblance of a smile,
Annie sighed and said, “I just love it, Mitch. The company is like
my family. That’s all there is to it.”

Suddenly Mitch reached out and traced her
cheek. His fingers were warm and surprisingly soft and Annie had to
force herself not to lean toward his touch. The bleak acceptance
she saw in his eyes told Annie that he did, indeed understand. A
flood of emotion rushed through her, past her carefully constructed
defenses and into her pounding heart.

Then Mitch drew to him. Her initial response
was to bolt, but the elemental need simply to be held by another
human being made her clean into the warmth of Mitch’s embrace. He
cradled her against him, then pressed a light, almost reverent kiss
to her temple. “Aw, Annie,” he murmured.

“
Mitch, I don’t think this
is a good —”

He shushed her, putting a finger against her
lips. His gaze caught and held hers in a way that convinced Annie
he somehow looked into her very soul. “I want you, Annie. You know
I do.” His voice was low and full of a longing Annie recognized
because she felt it herself. “But right now, I just want to hold
you for a while. Okay? No ulterior motive here.”

Later, Annie would remember this as the exact
moment she fell in love with Mitch Hightower.

Mitch felt rather than heard
Annie’s low, accepting sigh. She rested trustingly against him.
Relief coursed through him and he tightened his hold. The look of
utter longing he’d glimpsed in her eyes when she’d told him that
Hightower was home had almost torn him in two.

When Annie had signed on with the company
some five years ago, she’d given more than her all—she’d given
herself. Mitch saw that now. What he’d mistakenly perceived as
tenacity on her part had simply been desperation. Annie had spent
the majority of her life uprooted, but like a rare flower, she’d
bloomed in adversity. She’d flourished at the company—with Will—and
the possibility of losing all of that must have sent her
reconstructed world into a tailspin. Mitch regretted that he’d
caused her so much pain. Regretted the whole situation.

Nevertheless, it couldn’t be
avoided. They couldn’t
both
win his uncle’s challenge. And, despite the fact
that Mitch understood and shared in Annie’s pain, he too had a
stake in this unfortunate game. His future was on the line as well.
Funny, he mused. Just several days ago he’d only been able to see
black and white where the CEO position was concerned. All that had
changed in a heartbeat.

In his lap, Annie stirred. The soft hand that
had been on his should slid down and presently trailed over his
chest in an intimate circle that made his pulse race. Mitch
swallowed hard. Did she know that she was doing to him?

Annie looked up, her eyes dark with desire
and something else, something he couldn’t readily identify, answer
the question for him.

She wanted him.

“
Annie,” Mitch breathed
raggedly. “We don’t —”

“
Your back-up plan,” she
interrupted huskily. “Looks like we need it.”

“
B-back-up plan?” Mitch
wondered aloud.

Annie sat up and straddled him. Mitch almost
exploded. “Getting it out of our system, remember?”

Oh, did he
ever
. Still, Mitch wanted to make certain
that this was what Annie wanted. He didn’t want any regrets later.
“Are you certain —”

Annie nipped at his lips, stalling any
further questions from him and moved against him in a way that made
Mitch want to nudge her panties aside and sheath himself in her
right then.

The soft firelight outlined her womanly
curves and turned her curls into a cloud of coppery-looking
temptation. Mitch’s hands cupped her rounded bottom as he drew her
to him to feel the full force of his longing. His tongue traced the
sweetness of her lips, then delved inside and sampled the nectar
within. Annie’s answering moan resulted in a quickening so swift he
almost came undone. She caressed his chest, stroking him sensually
until one hand swept up and threaded through the hair at his
nape.

Mitch drew his lips from hers and kissed her
jaw, her neck, every bit of exposed skin that he could find. And
when that wasn’t enough, he unbuttoned her shirt and discovered
more. Much more.

“
You’re so beautiful,
Annie,” Mitch breathed reverently. He palmed her perfect breasts,
testing the weight in each of his hands, then bent and suckled one.
Her nipples tightened with pleasure as he teased first one and then
the other.

Seemingly displeased with her lack of
clothing versus his covered chest, Annie broke away from him,
grabbed Mitch’s shirt and drew it over his. Mitch sucked in a
breath from the contrast as Annie reveled in it. She murmured with
pleasure, then came back to his lips. The combined sensations—Annie
above him, naked, tasting him, her feminine scent—robbed Mitch of
any further rational thought. Remarkably, he didn’t care.

The idea that making love with Mitch might be
a mistake occurred to her, but Annie pushed the thought away. She’d
been fighting her desire for him for more than a week now and she
simply didn’t have it in her to fight anymore. Something about
Mitch drew Annie like a magnet to steel. It was a force she didn’t
understand and didn’t want to.

She needed
him
. And Annie understood instinctively
that Mitch needed her as well.

Mitch’s tongue circled her nipple and sucked
hard, snatching the air from her lungs. Annie ceased to think.

She moaned and drew him away from her breast,
back to her lips. He tasted all warm and male and forbidden. Which
made him all the more appetizing. Beneath her Annie felt him strain
against her panties. The thin silk slid across her most private
part in a manner that left her wanting much more. As if he had read
her mind, Mitch reached between them and stroked her. Her breath
hitched.

“
Annie,“ he
rasped.

Annie’s fingers traveled to the waistband of
his sweats and slid beneath the material. Emboldened, she touched
him and felt him jerk against her. Mitch drew in a harsh breath.
Pleased that she could elicit such a response, Annie leaned forward
and smiled against his lips. Mitch slipped a finger inside her and
she arched with pleasure.

From there, Annie’s sense of time seemed to
go haywire. She imagined they must have tumbled to the floor, but
she didn’t remember falling. Still, the soft braided rug was at her
bare back and Mitch, in all his naked glory, loomed above her like
a dark sexy angel.

“
Mitch,” she begged at
last.

He took her hands, then threaded their
fingers together, and sank slowly into her.

An intense pleasure rocketed through Annie’s
body as Mitch withdrew, then thrust again. Then again, until she
felt a powerfully erotic sensation start deep within her in long,
insistent waves. Annie wrapped her legs around his waist and drew
him deeper. Mitch sucked in a swift breath. “Annie,” he
growled.

In answer Annie upped the tempo, thrusting
harder against him. Three incredible strokes later, they climaxed
together, lost in the fulfillment of sensual desire and the
blissful wonder of their joining, body and soul.

Breathing raggedly, Mitch
rested briefly atop her, then rolled off and snuggled her to him.
With one arm, he snagged the afghan from the couch and covered them
with it. Annie’s last thought before she drifted into a sated sleep
was simply,
“Wow.”

Mitch awakened to the feel of Annie at his
side and the taste of her still on his lips. It was a sensation he
could easily get used to. Even addicted to. While Mitch wouldn’t
consider himself a Don Juan, over the years he’d had his share of
women. And he’d had great sex.

But what he’d shared with Annie this rainy
afternoon equaled nothing in his experience. Making love with Annie
was…pure heaven. Just knowing that she was beside him, feeling how
well her body fit his, made him hard. He wanted her all over again.
Partly because he knew how wonderful it would be and partly because
he had to see if they could equal what had just happened here.

Her small hand lay trustingly across his
chest and all that amazing hair fanned over him as he’d imagined
only a few days ago. Mitch touched one coffee-colored curl gently,
and twirled it around his finger. Realizing that Annie could just
as easily curl herself around his heart hit Mitch hard. The idea
equally humbled and terrified him.

“
It’s just hair,” Annie
whispered.

Mitch turned to look into her soft brown
eyes, and felt a smile tug at his lips. “What?”

“
My hair,” Annie clarified,
chuckling softly. “You’re looking at it like holds the secrets of
the universe.”

Maybe not
the
universe, Mitch
thought, but
mine
.
“Who knows? It might. It’s pretty amazing stuff.”