Driven to Temptation (7 page)

Chapter Eleven

Delaney blew out a breath and looked around the brightly lit warehouse-sized store. They’d barely made it to Electronics World before closing time, but at least they’d made it.

Aidan turned to her as they waited at the service counter. “There’s a ladies’ room here.”

“I don’t have to go.”

“Are you kidding?”

She frowned. “No.”

He just shook his head and straightened as the store manager approached. Although, as far as looks went, the scrawny-looking kid could’ve passed for a teen shopping for the latest video game.

“Sorry. I don’t have a projector for you.”

Beside her, Aidan stiffened. “Excuse me?”

“I don’t have a projector to give you,” Scrawny Kid repeated.

“I reserved the projector more than a month ago.”

Scrawny kid shrugged, clearly taking in Aidan’s disheveled appearance. “Sorry. I’ll refund your deposit.”

Aidan took a deep, calming breath and stared across the counter. “You’re sure you don’t have another one to give me?”

Uh-oh. If the kid was smart, he’d pick up on the low, dangerous threat in Aidan’s voice.

“I just looked.” The kid scratched behind his right ear. “There’s not an extra one around.” He pointed at the partially dismantled machine at the end of the counter. “This one was supposed to go to you, but it isn’t working.”

Aidan sucked in another deep breath. “What do you mean it’s not working?”

“Exactly that.” He drummed his fingers on the glass counter. “I’ve tried to fix it, but still nothing.”

“Then get me another one.”

“Can’t.”

He waved a hand toward the rows of electronics. “We’re surrounded by projectors. Give me one of those.”

“Those are for sale, not to rent out.”

Judging from the deepening scowl on his face, there was a pretty good chance Aidan would end up with a coronary.

“Now, if you want to buy one, I can do that.” Scrawny Kid twirled a pen between his fingers. “As a matter of fact, we’ve got a brand-new projector that’s being tested only at this location. Won’t be available for major distribution for a few months. It’s lightweight and has a bulb that’ll go 50,000 hours before you need to replace it.” He grinned. “I’ll even make you a special deal on it.”

“I don’t want to buy one.” A fresh level of frustration laced his words as he enunciated every syllable and scrubbed a hand over his jaw.

Delaney couldn’t blame him. For as little as it would be used, the return on that kind of investment wasn’t one he could afford.

“Now, are you going to open up a box and give me one?” Aidan asked. “Because I’m not walking out of here otherwise.”

No doubt about it. He was thoroughly pissed. And if she didn’t step in to help the guy, there was a pretty fair chance things could get ugly. Fast.

She pasted on her nicest smile, the one her mother called the princess look, then glanced at the guy’s name tag. “Hi, Evan, I’m Delaney.” She held out her hand, noting the sweaty palm placed in hers. “I know you don’t have that model for rent, but maybe you could write a new policy. Since you’re store manager and all.” She winked. “And if these models were available, they’d typically rent for more, wouldn’t they? With the features that are on them?”

He shrugged. “Well, yeah.”

“And that would mean more income for the store, wouldn’t it? What with all the conventions Seattle has.”

“A
lot
more.” He scratched his head as if in deep thought.

“So what if we were the first ones to test it out for you at our trade show? And we’d leave a good review on your website. To top it off, you’ll have another projector available. At a higher price,” she reminded him.

“What if no one wants it?”

“Are you kidding? We’re on our way to the largest construction trade show in the Pacific Northwest. Anybody who’s anybody will be there. Companies even larger than Ross and Associates will see it.” She leaned in just a tad. “And when they ask, we’ll hand them one of your business cards and tell them to come see you.” She tapped her fingers on the countertop. “Good advertising, if you ask me.”

He hesitated even as the pencil-twirling continued. Delaney had to figure out a way to clinch it for them. “I bet higher rental receipts would get you noticed by people in corporate.”

A slow smile spread across the guy’s thin face as he puffed out his chest. “Yeah. I’m store manager, I can go ahead and authorize this.” He nodded once. “I won’t even charge you more for it.” He said it so decisively, she wondered if she’d created a monster. “Let me go pull one off the shelf for you. I’ll test it first to make sure it works right.”

As Scrawny Kid rounded the corner toward the row of projectors, Delaney shot Aidan a smile along with a raised eyebrow.

He smiled back. “Thanks.”

His smile was all sorts of sexy. Butterflies danced in her stomach, furthered by the gentle squeeze of his hand on her shoulder.

If this was how she reacted to his touch, she had to make it a point to keep her distance.

It was the only logical choice.

…

Two hours. They arrived at the hotel two hours later than Aidan had planned. He hoisted his duffel bag and laptop case with one hand, and rubbed his left temple with the other.

God, he needed a shower.

He liked structure, but Delaney was chaos on a pair of shapely legs. No doubt it added to the…interesting day.

He crossed the hotel lobby with Delaney keeping pace, even with her roller bag and a couple
boxes of brochures. Of course, her bag was a couple pounds lighter, given she’d eaten most of the snacks she’d brought with her.

He turned, gave her body a once-over. She’d pulled the suit jacket on the moment he’d parked, so it wasn’t like he could really tell where the hell she put it all.

His head pounded, his stomach growled, and he still needed to review the presentation with her before tomorrow’s setup.

The throbbing in his head kept the same beat as the music coming out of the hotel bar. This time, he pinched his nose in an effort to ease the tension.

“The line’s not too bad.”

“Only because most people have already checked in.” He couldn’t keep the sharpness out of his voice. Most of the other vendors were probably working on a cocktail and relaxing before the trade show’s craziness tomorrow.

Wait. Aidan stopped in the middle of the lobby.

Checked in.

He stared at Delaney.

Holy shit.

She huffed out an exasperated breath. “What’s wrong
now?
”

“Nothing.” At least, he hoped it was nothing. They headed toward the registration counter.

Still, the reality hit him full force as he stared across the narrow space to the woman with a pleasant smile on her face. “Welcome to the Seattle Plaza. How may I help you?”

God, he hoped she could.

He’d booked a room with two queen beds in it. It would’ve allowed him and Harold to finish up on their presentation, working late into the night if necessary.

Except…Harold wasn’t here.

Delaney was.

“We need a room,” he said.

“Very good.” The woman’s warm voice didn’t help soothe Aidan’s jangled nerves. “You have a reservation?”

“It’s under Aidan Ross,” he said. “But there’s been a change.” He glanced uncertainly at his companion. “I need an
extra
room.”

Delaney’s eyes widened, understanding finally hitting her. Hard, judging from the way her eyes narrowed. She shifted her bag from one shoulder to the other but didn’t say a word.

“Let’s see what we have.” The woman turned her attention to her computer and punched some keys. After a few moments she looked at him, a slight frown on her face. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a reservation under that name.”

“What?” Aidan reached for the travel folio tucked into his laptop case. He’d printed the confirmation number. Like he always did. “That’s impossible.” He pulled the page out. “I made the reservations myself.” He handed her the sheet.

She scanned it, one painted fingernail tracing its way down. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ross. It’s been a bit of a madhouse, with two conferences taking place simultaneously. Let me see what happened here.”

He sucked in a deep breath, willed his head to quit pounding. “I’ll need another room, too,” he reminded her. Although at this point, he’d be grateful to have anything at all.

The minutes ticked by, and next to him, Delaney tapped her foot against the elegantly tiled floor. Fortunately, her sneakers prevented adding noise to the already-bustling space, but it didn’t stop him from noticing her movement, either.

“Okay,” the hotel employee said when she returned a few minutes later. “I can have a room ready for you in half an hour.”

Relief swept through him but didn’t last. “Just one room?” he asked. He sent a silent prayer to the hotel gods, hoping one of them would see fit to give him a break.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ross, but we’re fully booked.” She gave him another apologetic smile.

He knew better than most there were days it was tough to catch a break. He just wished today wasn’t one of them. His head continued to pound. Screw dinner. He needed a drink.

“I’ll sleep in a chair if it means I can get into a hot shower,” Delaney muttered beside him.

The words were innocent, but the images they’d conjured up? Hell.

Aidan swallowed deeply, willed the sexy images to the back of his head and firmly locked his logical, analytical brain back into place.

Exactly where it belonged.

She fidgeted beside him, her movements taunting him. Could he spend a night with her so close? Close
and
untouchable?

Did he have a fucking choice?

He weighed his options. Which really sucked from where he was standing.

Aidan caught the clerk’s expectant gaze. “We’ll take it.”

He prayed he’d live through the next three days. If he had to, he’d sleep in the bathtub.

With the cold water turned
on
.

Chapter Twelve

This was a bad idea.

At the door to their room, Aidan slipped the card key into the slot, waited a moment, then turned the door handle and pushed it open. Soft light from a corner lamp spilled into the small space, making it seem more…intimate than he’d have liked.

His heart raced and his palms sweat. How the hell did he think he could stay away from Delaney here?
Shit.

Really, he was able to control himself, control his libido, play by the rules the way a gentleman should.

“Finally,” she said, brushing past him. She toed off her sneakers to one side and parked her roller bag beside them as she crossed to the desk at the opposite end of the room. “I’ve got dibs on the shower first.”

She raised her arms above her head and stood on tiptoe in a slow stretch, the yoga pants doing crazy-stupid things to him. “I’m still stiff from the drive.”

So was he, but probably not in the places she meant. He turned, grabbed his duffel, and threw it on the closest bed. “Go ahead.”

He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, felt the end-of-day stubble that reminded him how long it’d been since he’d awakened that morning.

And now he was here. Stuck in a standard-sized hotel room that had never looked so cramped to him as it did now.

She placed her roller bag on the luggage stand, then bent to unzip it.

He stared, his imagination swirling with possibilities. Possibilities that’d have him arrested if she had any inkling at all.

God.

She was tempting. Definitely tempting.

“If you need to use the bathroom, now would be a good time.” She had her back to him as she rummaged through her things.

“I’m good.” He reached for the cell phone he’d tucked in his windbreaker. Now would be the perfect time to check in with Harold.

“Okay, then.” She straightened, then rushed past him like she was afraid he’d changed his mind about who’d shower first.

As soon as he heard the water running, Aidan dialed his second-in-command. The better to corral his libido. Because it sure as hell beat imagining Delaney in there, eyes closed and water dripping down her body.

“Harold, you feeling better?” he asked as soon as the phone picked up.

The older man groaned. “Must’ve been something I ate.”

“Yeah, Delaney pointed that out,” he said drily. He spared the guy the lecture on the tip of his tongue. “Nice of you to choose her to take your place.”

Silence.

“Harold? You there?

“I didn’t specifically choose her, knowing you’re too cheap to book more than one room. I told her to have Scott go with you.”

Aidan stopped, then turned toward the sound of the shower running. “She told me the rest of the guys were out in the field and I was lucky she was available.”

She’d planned it so he had to take her.
Holy shit.

He let the realization sink in. While a part of him should’ve been pissed, he couldn’t bring himself to stay that way. Because while he liked structure, the day wasn’t just interesting, it was a lot of fun, too. Dog hairs and all.

“Honestly, she’s the brightest one on the team.” Harold’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “She’s the one who put the bulk of the presentation together. I’m sure she’ll do a good job for you, even if you did have to spring for another room.”

“There weren’t any other rooms available.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Do what they do in the movies and string a bedsheet between your beds.”

No mistaking the amusement in his foster uncle’s voice.

“Very funny, wiseass. Any more brilliant ideas?”

Harold cleared his throat and assumed his older-and-wiser-man tone. “Listen. Delaney’s like one of the guys. She’ll be fine.”

She wasn’t the one Aidan was worried about.

Harold had obviously never seen her legs. Or the slight flare of her hips. Or the way her bangs brushed the top of her forehead.

“You’re both adults and you’re both professionals,” he continued. “I think you can manage a few nights together in the same room.”

“I swear that woman drove me practically nuts on the drive.”

“Delaney? How so? She’s easy. Never complains. Holds her own.”

“With as many times as we had to stop so she could use the ladies’ room today? Or the way she insisted on eating in my truck? Not to mention the fact that she can’t stop fidgeting.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “God only knows if I’ll get any sleep the next few days.”

Silence.

“Harold?”

The older man chuckled, long and loud, and sounding as if he were in the same room.

“What’s so goddamned funny?” Aidan demanded.

“She’s gotten under your skin. Never thought I’d see the day when you’d lose your cool. Even when you were a teenager you never lost your cool.”

What the hell was he talking about?

“No,” Harold continued. “You knew exactly what you wanted and the path to get there. ROTC, college, a short stint in the army. All so you could own your own business. You were cold. Calculated.”

“I was
focused
.”

“Call it what you want. Only now, some young woman’s made you lose your cool.”

He and Harold went way back. Far enough that he was one of a handful of people Aidan trusted. And while he didn’t have the drive to run his own business, the guy was great with people, providing the warm, caring face of Ross and Associates. But right now, despite their history, Aidan kinda wished he weren’t getting too personal. “I haven’t lost my cool
now
.”

There was that annoying, deep chuckle again, the one Aidan remembered from his teen years. “Oh, yeah? You always complain about a female? Even Elizabeth, toward the end of your marriage, couldn’t get a rise out of you. And that one inspector on the light rail project in Portland? She made your life hell, but you never said one word. Not one word. You dealt with it all. Calm, cool, the Ice King to the core.”

He bristled. “I’ve always hated that moniker.”

“It fits.”

Yeah, he knew it.

Harold continued. “Yet someone you’ve just met has you complaining more than I’d ever heard before.” He chuckled again. “Yep. You’ve got me totally convinced.”

The water in the shower shut off, and Aidan glanced in the direction of the bathroom at the sound of metal on metal. She was done. Probably toweling herself dry.

Too bad he wasn’t in there with her, wiping beads of water off her perfect skin. Skin flushed with the heat from the shower so she was pink all over.

Breathe. Just breathe.

Aidan repeated the mantra that had gotten him through some tight spots in the army. His heartbeat still pounded, but at least the tightness in his chest subsided a bit. He concentrated on his conversation with Harold, concentrated on the details of the presentation as the older man tried to bring him up to speed on Delaney’s portion.

And it almost worked.

Until the bathroom door opened and she walked out in bare feet and damp hair…as well as the tiniest pair of boxer shorts he’d ever laid eyes on and a matching tank top, so thin her nipples showed through it.

She rushed past him, the scent of fresh apples trailing behind her.

Aidan’s mouth dried, and he fought the hard-on that drove his dick tight against his jeans. “Okay.” His voice remained steady by some fucking miracle. “Got it. You get better, and we’ll see you in a few days.”

“Hang in there, boss.” Harold chuckled again. “Delaney’s a tough one, but I think you can handle her.”

Oh, he’d like to handle her all right. Just not the way the older man meant. “Yeah. Thanks.”

He hung up. His gaze trailed over the smattering of yellow and green flowers dotting the back of Delaney’s shorts, clinging to her perfectly rounded ass like a second skin. He’d never envied inanimate objects like he did her shorts at that moment.

She turned, caught his gaze, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

Feeling like he’d been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, he clenched his jaw.

“It’s all yours,” she said, her lips curved into a slight smile, almost like she’d read his mind.

…

A corner of his mouth lifted in a super-sexy smile. “Thank
s.”

Delaney tried her best to rein in her hormones. “For?”

“Being a good sport about all this.”

There was another option?

He looked around the room as if evaluating the space. “Guess this is home for the next few days. Let’s do our best to get through this, okay? As awkward as it is.”

His gaze locked with hers, and an intimate intensity crackled between them.

Delaney’s mouth dried. No doubt about it. He wanted her. It was the only explanation for the shift between them. Her heartbeat kicked up, drumming out of control in her chest. She was spending a few nights in a hotel room with Aidan Ross. “We’re adults. This doesn’t have to be awkward. Maybe we can think of this as a weekend sleepover or something, only I promise not to paint your toenails and do your hair.”

“Thanks.”

He did the statue-still thing again, only this time he was studying her. “Harold told me Scott was supposed to join me on this road trip, not you.”

Oh, shit.

Delaney carefully placed her dirty laundry in a pocket of her roller bag.

Now would be a good time to come clean. “Yeah, well, Scott was too busy closing out his last project.” Because she’d refused to do it for him again. “Besides.” She raised her chin a notch and considered her next words carefully. “I’m the logical person to be here.”

He stared at her a moment, shook his head, and turned, stalking toward the bathroom, the muscles of his right forearm flexing as he tossed his cell phone onto the bed when he passed.

Her heart stuttered, pulsing out some erratic beat like she’d had a double shot of espresso. How’d he do it? No matter how much she tried not to notice, she couldn’t deny he was sexy as hell even when he was pissed. And it made her want him. Bad.

No denying it. She’d turned into a needy woman ogling her boss and wishing she were in the shower with him. She was pretty sure it’d be way more exciting than the time she’d spent in there. Alone.

She clenched her legs tight and shook her head to stop her overactive imagination from traveling down the rabbit hole to nowhere good. The vibes between them were too raw, too intense. If she could, she’d make the first move. They were healthy adults, weren’t they? Under different circumstances she was pretty sure they’d have acted on the attraction.

He turned the shower on, and water slamming against the stall ignited a picture of Aidan. A very
naked
Aidan. With steam surrounding him. She took a few steps toward the bathroom, the sounds of splashing water like a Siren’s call. There’d be lots of steam as he—

Whoa. Wait. What the hell was she doing? She shook her head to clear it. She had goals. Big goals. Their attraction would be fine once she owned her own company and she was on an equal playing field with Aidan.

But she had to get there first.

She eased in a deep, fortifying breath, turned, and headed toward the desk. Her stomach grumbled a protest as she passed the room’s minibar, its goods trapped behind a glass case and sending out signals like a sensor tuned to her.

They’d had dinner while waiting for their room to become available, but still, a snack wouldn’t hurt, either. Just something to prime the pump and get her in work mode.

She stopped, took two steps back, her bare feet registering the room’s short nubbed carpet. Why the hell was she bothering to look, anyway? Hotel minibars were notoriously expensive. She wouldn’t buy anything.

Maybe one quick peek. Just to see what was there. In case she woke up starving or something in the middle of the night. Where was the harm in it, really?

She peered through the minibar’s protective glass, covering the goods like a Fort Knox guard. Unless you had the requisite funds to do more than look.

Ohh… Nice assortment of cookies… Bottled water… Aunt Molly’s barbecue potato chips.

Aidan was in luck. Not that he’d spring for it at the price asked.

He was an enigma, wasn’t he? A blend of quiet intensity, and a standoffish demeanor, and yet he had a gentleness that drew her toward him. She would’ve never guessed he’d be attached to his foster brother the way he was. Let alone capable of helping a lost dog. Especially when he was allergic to it.

She’d started this trip not knowing much about Aidan, and now…

She stopped her brain from heading down that pointless path. Why the hell was she having a hard time concentrating?

She scanned the remaining items. Shot bottles were lined up, ready to be pulled off the shelf should the mood strike. Well, she wasn’t quite at the point of needing a shot of the available hard liquor, but the night wasn’t over yet.

Then there was the pleasure pack. An assortment of breath mints… Wait. Pleasure pack?

She raised an eyebrow and leaned in further. Yep. A pleasure pack. As in condoms. She grinned. How very convenient.

God, how she wished they’d need those.

No. Don’t think like that.

With a decisive turn, she opened her canvas case, then pulled out her laptop charger. Right now, it was all about her presentation. She’d only just finished the computer demo model last night, and as soon as Aidan was done, she was going to —

A moan sounded, low and faint. At least, that’s what her brain told her. Man, the walls in this place were pretty thin.

Another moan, no doubt about it. She frowned. Was that…from…the shower?