Free The Tycoon's Marriage Exchange by Elizabeth Lennox

putting that gentle, almost-not-there hand to the small of her back, then even that dropped away when she was heading down the stairs. 
    What would he do if she pretended to trip?  Would he catch her?  Would she feel his strong hands holding her?  Maybe he would even pull her closer, let her feel his chest or his arms.  She could grab his arm just turning the corner at the bottom of her stairs, she thought, pretend that something had caught the heel of her shoe. 
    A moment later they were off the stairs, the possibility was gone as they were walking towards the parking lot.  Kallista sighed heavily as she looked around for his limousine, wishing she had more courage around this man.  He was such an enigma.  An enticing, fascinating mystery that she desperately wanted to understand. 
    She was surprised when she considered telling Hector about the story she was working on.  Not the one she’d just submitted to her editor which was a fluff piece about the various animals available for adoption at the animal shelters.  But the other one, the one only her editor knew about with the drug cartels and the secret stashes, all the illegal activities in areas one wouldn’t normally expect because they were so open, so suburban and not the dangerous underbelly of the inner city where people might expect to find illegal drug activities .  She had pictures and testimonials, she’d seen drug deals in some of the less expected areas and this story was going to be a real breakthrough for her career. 
    She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about the story, on orders from her editor.  The man didn’t want her to reveal her sources, nor did he want her to accidentally tell the wrong person and get hurt.  As she walked beside Hector, she wondered what he would think if she told him that she was more than just a fluff reporter.  Would he be angry?  Or impressed that she was pushing the limits on her writing and investigating capabilities? 
    She wasn’t sure what his opinion was about a wife working, especially in a position like she had, something that might be visible.  She didn’t care if he didn’t like it though.  There wasn’t much he could do to force her to quit.
    Or could he? 
    She would have to bring that up with her editor, find out what kind of pull Hector had with her newspaper.  And if he did have the power to get her kicked off the staff, she’d have to talk with him about that.  She didn’t want her husband interfering in her career, especially if she was out with him each night, on his arm and giving up her free time to help him with his business interests.  Fair is fair she told herself. 
    “Where are we going for dinner tonight?” she asked, smiling her thanks when he held open the door to a powerful looking black vehicle.  She suspected she might be in trouble when she noticed there were only two seats in this car.  A car with only two sea ts, that meant power and speed, which only added to Hector’s appeal.  She never would have expected this man to drive a car like this.  Limousines, yes.  Powerful cars that could probably reach over two hundred miles an hour?  Not at all! 
    He waited until he was seated next to her and pulling out of the parking lot before answering.  “I thought we could eat at my place where we can talk without interruptions.  But if you’d like to go to a restaurant, I can arrange that.”
    She swallowed slightly and shook her head. “No, your place would be nice.  I’d love to see more of your home.”  She only said that to give herself something to do instead of just sitting across the table from the man.  Maybe he could explain why he lived in such a huge house all by himself. 
    He’d mentioned a quiet dinner earlier and this was basically what Kallista had been thinking would happen for the evening, but hearing him say the words, and seeing in her mind what she really wanted to happen, which was him taking her into his arms and kissing her so she