Heart of Steel (5 page)

     Lush, green plants dangled above him as he checked the view out the window. A large ficus tree dominated one corner and half a dozen smaller plants he didn’t immediately recognize surrounded it. Some sort of Christmas looking pine tree and bunches of flowers claimed the other corner plus one entire wall. Chandler obviously had a green thumb with plants—he was curious to see how green she would make his bottom line.

     Sitting among the foliage were three large marble sculptures struggling for attention. Each figure stretched in a different yoga position. He made a safe assumption they were not high art, but more of an emotional attachment. Books and magazines were tossed over the floor and furniture, and Logan caught the faint smell of incense which still hung in the air. He studied the sculptures in curiosity.

     “One of my teachers gave me those.” She placed two snifters on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa. Logan sat next to her. “They were supposed to represent the new commitment I made to my life.”

     “What commitment?”

     Chandler smiled. “Truth in speech. Simplicity in manner. Firmness of mind. Three things to constantly strive for.”

     “Have you succeeded?”

     She took a sip of brandy. The heated liquid trickled down her throat and warmed her body. “I don’t think many people end up succeeding,” she said. “Peace is a constant journey. I know I’m happier and more satisfied than I’ve been in the past. Giving up the drive for wealth and power wasn’t as hard as I thought. I’ve gotten back so much.”

     “Why does it have to be all or nothing? A person can still have money and reach spiritual height without giving up his dream.”

     She shook her head. “I think the path sounds easier than it really is. Most people think they can have both, which may work for a while. But someone who is truly reaching for spiritual height will eventually have to choose between truth and lies. Truth must be chosen. When money’s involved, the decision becomes harder.”

     Logan reached for his brandy and studied the amber liquid. “I disagree. If a person knows himself, he knows what path must be chosen. Money doesn’t corrupt, Chandler. People do.”

     “Perhaps.” She settled back on the couch. “I think we talk too much about me. I want to know how the ‘man of steel’ received his nickname.”

     He groaned. “If I ever get my hands on the journalist who wrote that article he will sorely regret it. I feel like I should wear a cape and be called Clark.”

     Chandler laughed. “Oh, your reputation can’t be that bad,” she teased. “Your last coup with Larson Securities was very successful. Investors knock down your door to get a hint of your next target.” She swished the liquid around in her glass. “Now, I know you started off as a stockbroker and cultivated some high number of accounts, but you’ve expanded since then. You’re buying corporations outright now.”

     He nodded. “I look for companies that are solid but in trouble. I buy them out, fix them up, and make more money. If I decide it’s not profitable, I just take the business apart and sell it off.”

     “Like Richard Gere in
Pretty Woman
.”

     Amusement gleamed in his eyes. “Yes, just like the movie.”

     “In such a competitive market you’ve made quite a name for yourself.”

     “I’ve managed.”

     “You’ve more than managed. But you didn’t tell me how you got your nickname.”

     A shadow passed over his face. His voice chilled when he finally spoke. “Does it matter?” She blinked in surprise. “No. I just thought we’d get to know one another. Since we’ll be working together, of course.”

     “Of course.” A muscle worked in his jaw, but he seemed to want to answer her question. “When I first started L&G Brokerage, I needed to score some particular deals in order to keep afloat. Steele Investments was an up and coming company earning a lot of press. I decided if I was able to acquire them, I could easily double my company’s profits.”

     The name skittered on the edge of her memory. “Wasn’t that a family owned company?”

     “Yes. I researched all the members in the family. I learned their strengths and weaknesses, in their professional and private lives. It took me months, but I finally found the weak link.”

     “What?”

     “The younger brother was a gambler. Oh, they kept him tightly under wraps, but he started gambling with some of their investors money. His family couldn’t do too much since he owned a large chunk of stock, and of course, jail was out of the question. So, I hired a friend of mine to pose as an investor and meet with him personally.”

     A cold chill raced down her spine. “You tempted him with money, didn’t you?”

     He spoke with no emotion. “I gave him a million dollars to invest.”

     She gasped. “You had that much capital available?” A slight smile touched his lips as he took a sip of brandy. “That was everything I had. I took a risk, and it payed off.”

     “He took the money.”

     Logan nodded. “Yes. His family found out too late. I offered them a deal. If they sold me the company, he’d stay out of jail. They signed the papers that week.”

     She gripped the stem of her glass tighter. “Did the press ever find out?”

     Logan shook his head. “They didn’t find out about the gambling. But after I signed the deal, the brother talked to a reporter and told him I practically threatened them to sign over the company. Said I was a cold-blooded monster who wouldn’t rest until I got what I wanted. The article stated no company was safe from me.”

     “The ‘man of steel,’” she whispered.

     He looked up. “With a heart to match.” His mouth set in a firm line. “I don’t look back and I don’t have regrets, Chandler. But I always try to protect the people close to me. Even at the expense of myself.”

     His gaze met and held hers. She knew Logan Grant held secrets buried deep inside; secrets revealed only in brief flashes in his gun-metal eyes. The man lied, he held many regrets—but he wasn’t about to explain, and he wasn’t going to look back.

     Her breath caught in her throat as an unexpected wave of protectiveness flooded her. Why did she have this sudden need to put her arms around him and offer comfort? Why wasn’t she horrified at his story, shocked at the way he manipulated another human being?

     She didn’t know. She’d met many hungry executives before, and counted her own father among them, but there was a unique difference about the man beside her. She believed Logan when he said he’d be fiercely devoted to the people he loved.

     “I believe you,” she said softly. “I don’t hold every businessman in a negative light, and I try not to make judgments on what I hear or read. People deserve a chance.”

     “Does everyone deserve a chance? Or just the people you can keep at a safe distance?”

     She pushed back her heavy mane of hair. “I don’t keep myself at a distance. I always try to give something of myself to people.”

     “Even men?”

     She bristled at his comment. “Everyone. Men and woman. I don’t draw distinctions between the two. If you’re talking about a romantic sense I’m bound to disappoint you. I never get involved with my students or my business partners.”

     He raised an eyebrow at her warning. “Doesn’t leave a lot of territory open now, does it?”

     She rose from the sofa and wondered how this man got her so defensive on the subject of her love life. Or lack of it. She glared at him. “Quantity is not my concern, Logan. Quality is what makes a relationship work, and I can guarantee I won’t find that with a man making a six figure salary, but is too busy to come home at night. I need more.”

     He studied her in silence. Intensity radiated around him. She struggled to take a deep breath, suddenly afraid of him, of the powerful emotions that crackled in the room like a burst of summer lightning. She backed away a bit. He was no longer her charming dinner companion, but a dangerous man who seemed to feel something she couldn’t understand.

     And she was alone with him.

     Slowly, Logan stood up and placed the snifter on the table. He crossed the room in two strides and stopped before her. “Your apartment suits you.” His voice vibrated through her body like a caress. “It reminds me of a woman filled with life—one who uses every moment to feel pleasure.”

     His hot steel gaze burned her. She stared, transfixed by his words and his voice and the heat that emanated from his body. “But at the same time there’s a part of you that remains in control, selfishly contained in a small, dark space. That part is cold and clinical, and vows to never melt into the other.”

     He took the glass from her hand, set it beside his, then moved closer. The back of his hand caressed her face. “You hold yourself back, Chandler, waiting for someone who will never come; a fantasy figure who seems safer than a man of flesh and blood, a man who will probably make mistakes and possibly hurt you. But the man you deny yourself could also make your spirit soar. You’re too afraid to reach out and take him.”

     He pulled her towards him with slow, deliberate movements. His warm breath penetrated her hair as his arms pressed her body into his. “Don’t run from me.” His voice commanded, whispered, in her ear. Then his mouth came down on hers.

     Caught in the fog enveloping her mind, Chandler held herself perfectly still in his embrace. Her senses were overwhelmed by his unique scent as it mingled with his cologne. The heat of his kiss and the coiled power of his hard body ignited a raw sensual energy that threatened to engulf her.

     Frantically, she realized the position she’d put herself in. Chandler knew he intended to prove her wrong regarding her attraction to corporate executives. By her denial, she’d waved a bright red flag in front of him and challenged his ego. She needed to remain calm and let him kiss her. He'd realize his mistake, apologize, and they’d continue their business arrangement and avoid future pitfalls.

     Logan immediately felt her refusal to respond to him. Obviously, his yoga teacher held on to her rational thoughts and treated him as an experiment. He clamped down hard on the fierce need that raced through his body to make her surrender to her emotions, as he’d been forced to. He deliberately relaxed his hold and eased the pressure of the kiss, moving his lips teasingly over hers, inviting her to kiss him back. Slowly, he sipped at her mouth as if she were a precious drink of water in the hot desert sun, learning her taste and texture. Nibbling at her lower lip, his tongue teased its pouty outline as he continued a maddening game of arousal and retreat attempting to both sooth and ignite her.

     Chandler unconsciously pressed her body closer to his, seeking something more to quench the fire in her belly that suddenly flamed to life.

     The strong hands that had first dragged her to his embrace now glided over her shoulders and down her arms in a gentle caress. His fingers smoothed her flesh through the sheer black silk and made her wonder what his touch would feel like on her bare skin. Her mind clamored for her to push him away when his grip loosened, but her body longed to feel the promise behind his teasing kiss. The blood pumped through her veins with each deliberate movement of his hands and mouth.

     Logan’s mouth brushed hers, then withdrew. He pulled his hands through her thick hair, rubbing each strand between his fingers in slow, easy movements. He lightly touched the tips of her breasts which immediately hardened under her stretch lace bodysuit. A moan escaped her lips.

     “Open your mouth for me, Chandler,” he whispered. And then he was inside. His tongue pushed through the seam of her lips, glided over the smoothness of her teeth, and plunged into the slick recess of her mouth to engage in a passionate battle. He drank in her taste with a hunger she could no longer fight. Her arms slid up and around his shoulders and pulled him closer.

     He crushed her soft, full breasts against his chest and insinuated one thigh between her legs, pushing her slightly off balance. Deftly, he undid the buttons of her silk blouse down to her waist and slipped it off her shoulders. The material fell away and cool air kissed her flesh, making her shiver. He dragged his mouth away and took in her swollen lips. “Do you realize how much I want you?” She trembled as his fingers stroked her breast. Her nipple rose into his palm as his thumb made teasing circles. “I knew it would be like this between us.”

     Logan eased the stretchy black bodysuit over her shoulders and exposed her naked breasts to his gaze. He plucked her tight nipples, murmuring in satisfaction as she arched upward and silently begged for more. His fingers sunk into the hair at her nape and tugged her head back to drop over his arm. “God, you're beautiful."

     Chandler felt like a pagan goddess about to be sacrificed. Her hair hung down her bare back, her breasts tilted upward, naked to his gaze and waiting for his mouth. Her body greedily demanded the pleasure this powerful man could give her, needing to be rid of the constraints her mind imposed over her many years of discipline. When was the last time she let a man pleasure her? For the first time, Chandler realized by letting her body take over, she felt gloriously free.