Beyond Temptation (16 page)

And she had a feeling tonight would be one of those times.

She could feel it. It was there in the air again, transmitting between them like hot lava. It was like a heated mist, surrounding them in a sexual haze. Instinctively she pushed back her chair and stood. No matter if they were on the verge of going separate ways, there was no way she could let tonight end without feeling the hardness of him embedded within her one last time.

Through eyes filled with desire she watched as he closed the blinds and pulled his shirt from within his pants and began unbuttoning it. When he had completely removed it and tossed it aside, her body responded. This was the naked chest that had rubbed against her bare breasts yesterday. The chest she had covered with more kisses than she could count.

She walked from around her desk but stayed a good distance from him. “I feel hot,” she said, her voice breathy and husky in a way it could get only around him.

“Then let me cool you off,” was his reply.

“Cool me off or make me hotter?”

He only shook his head and smiled before saying, “I’ll let you be the judge.”

Emboldened by the same force that had overtaken her yesterday, she began removing her blouse while he watched her. His gaze was intense, intimate and hot. After tossing her blouse aside she unsnapped her bra. Her breasts poured out before she could get the bra off completely and she felt a sheen of perspiration forming between the twin globes.

She shimmied out of her skirt and when she stood in front of him wearing a thong, this one black lace and covering less of her femininity than the one she’d worn yesterday, he suddenly made a sound. She heard the low growl that radiated from deep within his throat. It was then that he moved away from the window to return to the sofa and sat down and continued to hold her gaze. And then in a deep, husky, desire-laden voice, he said, “Come here, Lena.”

On legs that could barely hold her, she slowly crossed the room to him, locked with a gaze that was so intense it nearly took her breath away. When she came to a stop between his widened
thighs, he leaned forward, almost bringing him face-to-face with her womanly core.

His face was so close she could feel his breath through the thin wispy material. And then she felt something else, the wetness of his tongue as he snaked it out and began licking the lace. She remembered their chat the night before, and suddenly she felt so weak she had to reach out and grab hold of his shoulders to keep from falling.

Then he was pushing her a few steps back so that he could ease down on his knees in front of her.

“I need to taste you, Lena,” he whispered in a husky voice, still holding her gaze.

His words torched the flame within her, suddenly made her crazy with desire. She watched his breathing quicken, his eyes darken just mere seconds before he lowered his head and began kissing and licking his way upward, toward her inner thigh.

“Open your legs for me, baby,” he requested softly and it was then she realized she still had them pressed together. The moment she opened them he slowly peeled the thong down her legs, leaving her completely bare for his view.

His finger that was lodged between her legs moved and she inhaled a sharp breath. “You’re
awfully wet, baby,” he whispered huskily. “And I can’t imagine letting all that deliciousness go to waste.”

And before she could draw her next breath he was kissing and licking his way up her inner thigh again. The moment she felt his hot breath within inches of her womanly core, she dug her hands in his shoulders, bracing for the onslaught, and when it happened, when his tongue invaded her, both torturing and satisfying the ache between her legs, she almost lost consciousness. But he wouldn’t let her. The sensations that tore into her were too sharp and keen. Too electrifying to do anything other than to enjoy the moment.

So she held on as he relentlessly devoured her, tonguing and sucking, as sensations shot all the way through her bloodstream. She felt the explosion and tried pushing him away before it happened, but his hand was firm, possessively cupping her hips steady, locked to his mouth as his tongue continued to pound into her over and over.

“Morgan!”

She heard herself making moaning sounds at the same exact time she felt her stomach constrict. And she began experiencing sensations that swept through her that were so strong, so totally out of
her control that they had her screaming. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. Her body began vibrating between her thighs and she found herself pushing hard against his hot mouth instead of pulling away from it.

It took some doing but the sensations began ebbing and her body was slowly being pulled back into dimension. There was a heartbeat of silence and then she heard Morgan say huskily, “Get ready, baby. We’ve barely got started yet.”

L
ena glanced across the room at the man who was putting back on his clothes while she put back on hers. “We never got around to talking,” she said, forcing herself to speak calmly.

There hadn’t been anything remotely calm about what she and Morgan had shared for the past hour. Even now she knew they weren’t through with each other. It was bad enough they couldn’t get dressed without looking at each other, but there was this surge of nonstop desire that kept flowing through her.

“I know. Do you need to call your mother and check on her?”

She knew why he was asking. She should have been gone hours ago. It was almost eight. She couldn’t recall the last time she stayed away from home that late in the evening. “That’s not a bad idea.” She then tossed aside the blouse she was about to put on and walked over to her desk to call home, not missing the glint of heated desire she saw in the depths of his dark eyes.

Moments later she hung up the phone, shaking her head and chuckling. “What’s so funny?” Morgan asked.

“Mom was on the other line with Ms. Emily and rushed me off.”

“That’s her friend from the day care, right?”

“Yes. Sounds like the two of them are having one whale of a conversation. Usually Mom is in bed by nine, but she said they would be chatting for a while tonight.”

“Sounds like she’s found a good friend.”

Lena nodded. “Yes, it seems that way. I’m glad she’s finally coming around, but she’s been depressed for so long that…”

“That what?”

“Although I always wanted her to come out of it, a part of me wondered if she ever would.”

Morgan nodded. He then crossed the room to stand in front of her and cupped her chin, gently lifting it so their eyes could meet. “And?”

She arched a brow. “And what?”

“And how do you feel about that?”

Sometimes she felt he could read her like a book. “Of course a part of me is happy, Morgan, but then, I’ve gotten used to being there for her, taking care of her, and having her to need me.”

He smiled. “And you’ll always do that—be there for her, take care of her—and she will continue to need you.”

As if he knew she needed a hug he pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head. “But I know how you feel. I felt that way when Chance got married again.”

Lena pulled back and met his gaze. “You did?”

“Yes. I would never tell Chance but Bas, Donovan and I have always looked up to him. He seemed to always make the right decisions when it concerned not only the company but us as well. My father was a strict disciplinarian. He was a good man, but strict. He and Bas butted heads more times than I care to remember, and when
Bas dropped out of college and had no contact with the family for almost a year, he did maintain contact with Chance.”

Lena nodded. “But why did it bother you when Chance married?”

Morgan smiled. He knew she was asking mainly because Chance had married her best friend. “It bothered me because since Cyndi’s death, he hadn’t really shown any real interest in a woman until Kylie. I thought she would come and disrupt our little family circle.”

“But she didn’t,” Lena said defensively to the point it made Morgan chuckle.

“No, she didn’t. In fact I think she’s the best thing for Chance and Marcus, as well as for us. And now with Bas married and Jocelyn getting ready to manage one of Cameron’s construction companies here, it seems the Steele brothers are getting married one by one, although the jury is still out on Donovan, and will be for a while. He claims he’s having too much fun to settle down.”

Lena inhaled a deep breath knowing whether by accident or intentionally, Morgan had given her the opening she needed for them to start talking about their issues. “Morgan?”

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were thinking of running for public office?”

For a few moments he didn’t say anything, and then he released her and took a step back as if he needed full control of his mind and body to respond to her question. “I hadn’t really made a decision. Before I had merely thought about it.”

She nodded. “And now?”

“And now I have made a decision and will officially announce my candidacy next week.”

She inhaled deeply. “When were you planning to tell me?”

“This afternoon at dinner. And then tonight, which is why I came over here. But I kind of got distracted.”

They both had. She moved across the room to stand at the window. Opening the blinds she looked out. Like him she needed full control of her mind and body. After several moments she turned toward him. “I hope you know this changes everything and I can no longer agree to your business proposal.”

Immediately, she felt his inner tension. “One has nothing to do with the other, Lena.”

She shook her head. “Yes, it does. I’m not cut out to be a political wife.”

“I think you are.”

“You need someone else by your side, Morgan. Someone who would complement you and—”

He crossed the room. “What the hell are you saying?” he asked angrily. “Don’t you think I’m old enough to know what I want and need?”

“Yes, but when you had made that decision things were different. Then all you needed was a woman who would have your baby. Now you need a…”

“Trophy wife?” he asked in a tone of voice filled with even more anger.

She sighed deeply. “Yes, if you want to refer to it as such.”

“So me wanting you as the mother of my child means nothing?”

“It did before but not now.” Lena felt a tightening around her heart when she added, “Don’t you see what I’m trying to do?”

“Honestly, no, I don’t. Mainly because I know what I want and who I want, and let me tell you something else, Lena. I refuse for you or anyone else to decide my future for me.” He crossed the room to the coatrack and got his jacket and slipped it on. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

Lena knew he was angry but she didn’t know what else she could say or do to make him see reason. Why couldn’t he understand that things
needed to be back on a professional level between them?

When they reached her car, he asked before opening the door, “So what was tonight about, Lena?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes, you do. Why did you let me make love to you tonight if you knew things would be over between us?”

When she didn’t say anything he shook his head, understanding completely. “So it was one of those kinds of nights.”

She raised her head and met his gaze. “What kind of nights?”

“Nothing but sex, pure sex and nothing but sex.”

She cringed. His words had made it sound so dirty. “Why are you giving me a hard time about my decision, Morgan? I would think you would be overjoyed.”

He stared at her before moving aside and opening the car door for her. “Yes, you would think that and you know what, Lena? I’m going to announce my candidacy without you or anyone else beside me.”

When she got inside the car, she watched as he walked over to his own, and instead of getting in he
stood there, staring at her. She held back the tears that threatened to fall. Why couldn’t he see that everything she was doing was because she loved him?

“Let me get this straight,” Kylie said, glaring at her best friend. “You actually told Morgan you couldn’t marry him because he’s decided to run for public office?”

Lena was glad they were the only two in the house. They were in the kitchen. She was sitting at the kitchen table when Kylie stood at the counter folding laundry.

Chance was out playing the usual Saturday morning basketball game with his brothers; Marcus and his latest girlfriend had left earlier for the mall, and Tiffany had gone to spend the weekend with her grandparents.

“Calm down, Kylie. I wouldn’t want Chance to blame me if you went into labor early. And yes, I told him I couldn’t marry him. It would not have been a real marriage anyway.”

Kylie tossed the items she was about to fold back in the laundry basket and came and sat across the table from Lena. “And just what do you mean it would not have been a real marriage?”

Lena sighed. She knew that Kylie would be
upset because she had held all the facts of her pending engagement to Morgan from her. “First promise that you won’t get mad.”

Kylie rolled her eyes. “I won’t promise you anything because I’m already mad. I can’t believe you let Cassandra Tisdale and her band of Merry Hussies get to you.”

“They didn’t get to me.”

“Sounds to me like they did. So let’s get back on track. What do you mean that your marriage to Morgan would not have been real?”

Lena didn’t say anything for a long time. Then she said, “Morgan and I entered into a business agreement.”

Kylie lifted an arched brow. “What kind of business agreement?”

“I was to marry him and have his baby.”

“What!”

“You heard me. He asked me to marry him just to have his baby.”

Kylie stared at her for a long moment. And then she did the one thing Lena hadn’t expected. She burst out laughing.

And she continued laughing to the point where Lena began getting slightly irritated. Personally, she didn’t see anything funny, she thought, leaning
back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest and glaring across the table at Kylie. “Excuse me, I hate to interrupt, especially when I’ve evidently brought so much amusement into your life this morning, but can you please explain to me what the hell is so funny?”

Kylie stopped laughing, slightly. She then got up and went to the kitchen counter and grabbed a paper towel to dab at her eyes and said, “I’m so sorry, Lena, but Morgan pulled one over on you.”

Lena’s glare deepened. “Meaning?”

Kylie dabbed at her eyes some more and chuckled a few times before saying, “Meaning, he would have told you anything to get you married to him.”

Lena inhaled deeply, still not knowing just what Kylie meant. “Kylie, I’m going to count to ten, and if you don’t get that rump of yours back in this chair and tell me what you’re talking about, then you will be going into labor early.”

Kylie saw the threatening look in her eyes and knew her best friend meant business. “All right, all right,” she said, coming back to sit down at the table.

“Now talk.”

Kylie raised her eyes to the ceiling. “You’re so smart I’m surprised you hadn’t figured things out, Lena. Think,” she said, reaching across the table
and tapping a finger against what at the moment she considered her best friend’s thick skull. “For months Morgan has been after you. He asked you out several times.”

She glared at Kylie. “So? I’m sure he’s asked several women out. Big deal.”

“No, Lena. For Morgan it wasn’t just a big deal. I think it almost became an obsession.”

Lena frowned. “An obsession?”

“Yes. Not to the point that he would have resorted to stalking you or anything like that,” Kylie said, grinning. “But he was determined to get you.”

Lena considered Kylie’s words for a moment, then asked softly, “In bed?”

Kylie immediately knew where Lena’s thoughts were going and reached out and captured her hand. “No, Lena. I think it was more serious than that.”

Lena’s frown deepened. “What’s more serious than a man going after a woman for the sole intent of getting her in his bed? And you knew about this and didn’t tell me?”

Kylie shrugged. “I knew what Chance was telling me, which wasn’t much, but enough to figure out what was going on. The reason I didn’t tell you is that my husband asked me not to. He felt sooner or later sexual chemistry would do the
both of you in. The brothers knew how bad Morgan wanted you, so they figured out why he’d hired you to sell his house and buy another.”

Lena’s eyes widened in startled shock. “Are you saying the reason Morgan hired me as a Realtor was that he wanted to sleep with me?”

Kylie rolled her eyes. “No, that’s not what I’m saying, and will you please be quiet for a moment so I can give you my take on things?”

When Lena reluctantly nodded, she said, “My take on things is this. For Morgan it was more than having you in his bed. I honestly think he was quite taken with you, Lena, and he concocted this plan to get you right where he wanted you, as a permanent part of his life. Remember that day at lunch I told you about his belief about his
perfect
woman? In his mind you’re it and he would have done anything for you to become a part of his life like he wanted to become a part of yours. But first he had to prove himself to you, let you see that he’s not like those guys you dated before.”

Lena bit her bottom lip. A part of her couldn’t buy what Kylie was saying. Mainly because she couldn’t see herself as any man’s perfect anything. “I think you’re wrong, Kylie.”

“And I think I’m right, Lena. If all Morgan wanted was to sleep with you, once he’d done that he wouldn’t have come back, and I know the two of you have slept together.”

Lena leaned forward. “And how do you know that?”

Kylie smiled. “The same way you knew that Chance and I had slept together without me having said one word. I was celibate for over fifteen years and I know you haven’t been with anyone since your dad died. Although I hadn’t seen you in the past couple of days when I talked to you a couple of days ago you sounded funny.”