The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
[Book 2] Chapter 34

Lorelai POV

I returned to the Grant house the next morning with a smile on my face. I was looking forward to seeing Knox again, although I wasn't sure what had happened at the end of the day yesterday, other than that I had fallen asleep and he'd carried me back to the limo. My cheeks burned just thinking about it. How embarrassing. Knox of course had not said anything about it and had bid me a good day when I went to leave, a look of amusement on his face. I vehemently hoped I had not snored loudly or drooled or anything equally embarrassing as I slept. I had the feeling Knox would not divulge if I did. He was too much of a gentleman.

This time Knox was not in the dining room. Mr Grant and lan were missing as well. I sighed and put my handbag and purse in the kitchen. "Has Mr Knox had breakfast yet?" I asked Charlie who happened to be passing by.

She shook her head "Hasn't stepped foot outside his room and nobody has taken breakfast to him" she reported. I grinned "Thanks, Charlie."

This time the cook was in a nicer mood and helped me to build up a tray. I placed it in the dumbwaiter and sent it up, heading upstairs. I was in a good mood. I practically skipped up the steps and then grabbed the tray, heading over to Knox's bedroom and balancing the tray as I knocked. No answer. Not surprising. If he was invested in doing something on the computer, there was every chance he hadn't heard me. I managed to wrestle the door open and stepped inside with the tray, carefully putting it on the bedside table and turning around. Knox was seated at the computer with headphones on. I shook my head in resignation and made my way over to him, carefully placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and gently shaking it. Hopefully, this wouldn't startle him too much, I hoped.

He jolts and then turns, yanking his headphones off. I inhale sharply. There are dark circles under his eyes and he looks exhausted. Has he even slept yet or has he been awake all night?

"Knox, did you go to bed last night?" I ask peering at him as he yawns.

"Is it morning?" he asks dumbly.

I stare at him incredulously "Yes it's morning" I almost yell in frustration "Are you seriously telling me you didn't sleep? Do you know how bad that is for you? What on earth are you doing that's so important you couldn't get away for a few hours to rest?" He grins at me sheepishly "You're pretty when you're angry" he says bluntly, causing me to blush and fume at the same time.

Damn, this infuriating and charismatic man. He glances at the computer and sighs, shaking his head. I gesture towards the tray, mutiny in my eyes. "Eat" I growl "Drink."

He gives me a look of alarm but gets up and ambles over to the bed, dropping onto it and crossing his legs to sit, grabbing a muffin and biting into it. I wince as crumbs litter his bedspread. I would have to change his sheets over later, I muse. "I'm starving" he mumbles.

"I'm not surprised" I snarl "What are you working on?" I ask, curious despite myself.

He blinks. "I'm looking into the backgrounds of employees" he mumbles and my heart sinks.

Am I one of those employees? Had I done something to get on his radar? I begin to panic. How much does he know? He sees the panic in my eyes. "Not you Lorelai," he says patiently, swigging down his strawberry milkshake and sighing in satisfaction. It's kind of adorable that he likes that to drink, I think distractedly, and then focus on him again. "Then why..." I trail off.

"Somebody is selling secrets to our competitors" he explains tiredly "and it's somebody who works for us."

My anger fades. "Do you know who it is?" I ask quietly.

He slowly nods. "I do now" he murmurs "lan's on his way back as is my father. I need to shower" he mumbles.

"Go" I shoo him and as he meanders into the bathroom, I begin to tidy up, putting the tray back in the dumbwaiter and sending it down, fetching fresh linen and remaking his bed.

He spends a long time in the bathroom showering. Part of me wonders if he's fallen asleep in there and I begin to get nervous. Should I knock? Check on him? I bite my lip. I don't want to overstep but what if he's hurt himself?

There's a knock on Knox's door and lan opens it, poking his head inside.

"Oh Lorelai," he says in surprise "Where's Knox?"

I point at the bathroom door "he's been in there awhile. I'm worried he might have fallen asleep" I admit in a whisper as he frowns in concern.

"Just wait in the hall and I'll check" he assures me.

I hasten out to the hallway as lan knocks on the bathroom door. I hear his voice "Knox, I'm coming in."

Silence. The sound of the bathroom door opening and closing. Hushed voices that raise a little and then fall again. The bathroom door opens and closes again. Ian's footsteps pad across the floor. He motions me back inside. "He's awake," he says kindly "and he's given me the information I needed. Could you ensure that he gets some sleep? He's been up all night and I know how stubborn he can be. Tell him I'll take care of the problem, he just needs to rest." I nod slowly. lan grins "Thanks Lorelai that's a weight off my mind."

"Sure," I say faintly.

I'm burning with curiosity wondering who the leak is or the spy. But manners dictate that I don't question him, even though I'm dying to know who it is. I haven't been here long enough to learn about most of the staff and it would be difficult to pick out who it was. I sigh. I guess I'll get the gossip from Charlie later, I think brightening a little, if not Knox would probably tell me. I wonder what the staff member had been offered by the competition to be persuaded to sell the Grant's secrets like that and shudder. Nothing would ever persuade me to betray them. They were too nice a people. Not to mention the resources they had at their disposal. I suspected whoever the staff member was, they were about to disappear and nobody was ever going to hear from them again. lan winks at me and then disappears out the door, shutting it firmly behind him. A minute later the bathroom door opens and Knox staggers out, looking half asleep, his damp hair pulled back from his face, the towel tied firmly around his waist, leaving his chest bare as my eyes widen and my cheeks burn bright red.

"Knox" I stammer, turning around.

"It's not like you haven't seen a naked man before" he drawls yawning widely, bumping into a table and cursing slightly. He was going to hurt himself at this rate, I thought with annoyance, turning back around and observing him.

Gods he was sexy. My cheeks flamed as I took in his body, my mouth going dry. He was distracting and I struggled to gather my thoughts. He raised a brow at me while attempting to maneuver past me.

"You're meant to be going to sleep" I snarl, when his attention focuses back on his computer.

"I still have things to do" he comments drily, trying to walk past me.

Nope. Not happening. I grab his wrist, causing him to halt in surprise. He chuckles "Are you going to stop me?" he asks amused.

Damn right, I was. He was going to ruin his health at this rate. Ignoring the look of astonishment on his face, I turned and pushed him, hard, onto the bed.

"You know Lorelai if you want me to sleep with you, all you had to do was ask" he smirks.

I roll my eyes "You" I point at him, my tone like ice "are going to lie down and you are going to get some sleep. You need it. Whatever else that needs to get done" I pause and glare down at him as he blinks at me "can wait. Ian said to tell you he would take care of the problem so you could rest. Those were his exact words" I emphasized, poking his chest with my finger.

Whoa, those were some serious muscles there.

"Cute but still not going to..." he trailed off as I lay right down next to him and put his arm over me.

He stiffens. I glance over my shoulder. His eyes are wide. He looks at me in disbelief. If this is the only way that I can get him to sleep then so be it. I grip his arm, allowing him no room to wiggle away. Not that he looks like he wants to. His arm is already tightening over me and he's pushing into me instead of away as his head collapses on the pillow. I try to fight back a grin of success. "Soft" he murmurs drowsily, the towel the only thing between us, causing me to blush profusely some more.

His leg moves and pins mine underneath him. His head nestles into my neck. "So comfortable" he mutters. It's more than comfortable. It's heaven. Utter heaven. His hand plays out across my stomach and he yawns, his eyes fluttering closed. His body is toned and muscled all over. He might be a technological genius but he also made the effort to work out. I wait and then hear within moments the soft sounds of Knox snoring away behind me. I relax. He's asleep and completely out of it.

His body feels nice against mine. I yawn and then feel him pulling me back even more against him. I begin to feel drowsy. I try to get up and he refuses to let go of me. I can't see the point in fighting and waking him back up. I relax and then close my eyes. Within moments, I'm snuggling against him and entering the land of dreamland myself, my mind filling with visions of Knox and the things I would like to do to him, grateful that he couldn't see into my mind. If lan came back, he would see that I was lying there with his brother, on top of the sheets, but I had the sense that he wouldn't mind which surprised me. Why was it that suddenly lan seemed to be in my corner, or rather that he was on Knox's side and therefore on mine as well?