Seducing the Wolf (45 page)

“I wish you hadn’t,” Taylor whispered ardently. “I wish you’d stayed and talked to me. Because even though I didn’t see you, I
felt
you. But when I looked around and you weren’t there, I thought I was losing my damn mind! I wish to God I’d seen you, Manning. Because I would have told you off, and then I would have
begged
you never to leave me again.”

“
Jesus.
” With an agonized groan, Manning grabbed her face and crushed his mouth to hers in a fierce explosion of need. She cried out and threw her arms around his neck as his tongue pushed past her lips, pumping into her mouth with hot, ravenous strokes that made her legs quiver.

In one fluid motion, he bent and swept her into his arms. She clung tightly to him, pressing her face into his neck as he carried her purposefully to the elevator, which whisked them up to a sumptuously appointed master retreat that occupied the entire top floor.

The moment Manning set her down, they frantically undressed each other before falling backward upon the enormous bed, landing somewhere in the middle.

Taylor gasped as Manning licked her breasts, pushing them together to suck her hard nipples. When his mouth moved downward to tongue her slit, she arched off the bed and sobbed in ecstasy.

She was still shaking when he levered over her. She’d barely locked her legs around him before he surged into her with one powerful thrust that made them both cry out hoarsely. He seized her mouth in a feverish kiss, his hands fisting in her hair as he began driving into her.

“Manning,” she wailed, raking her nails down the flexing muscles of his strong back.

She could feel his voracious hunger, feel his blind desperation. His eyes burned with it as he slammed his hips into hers, possessing her with the ferocious urgency of a man trying to reclaim every lost second of the past twenty years. She was just as desperate for him, just as crazed with need and yearning as she undulated beneath him, her thighs tightening around his hips and her heels digging into his butt.

Her broken cries mingled with his harsh breathing as he powered into her, urging them both to a fevered, pounding rhythm that left them dripping in sweat.

“Ah, Taylor,” Manning panted fervently. “I love you, baby. I love you so damn much.”

“I love you too,” she cried, tears running down her cheeks as she stared into his blazing eyes. “I need you, Manning. Need you so bad it hurts.”

“I know, baby,” he groaned raggedly. “I can’t live without you. Don’t ever leave me.
Ever
.”

“I won’t.
God
, I can’t.” Her arms fastened around his back, hugging him tight as he drove into her, his hard stomach slapping wetly against hers.

They shattered at the same time, helplessly sobbing each other’s names as his thick semen flooded her with scalding intensity. She clung to his heaving shoulders, shivering from the explosiveness of their emotionally charged lovemaking.

When he finished emptying himself inside her, Manning collapsed forward, catching himself on his forearms so he wouldn’t crush her.

Staring deeply into her eyes, he bent down and kissed her with such aching tenderness that fresh tears spilled down her face. He kissed them away and brushed her sweaty hair off her forehead, then rolled onto his back and drew her possessively into his arms.

She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek to his damp chest, listening to his thundering heart.

They lay quietly together for a long time, his palm gently stroking the curve of her spine.

Taylor was the first to speak. “My father has a lot to answer for.”

“Yes,” Manning agreed darkly. “He does.”

“There’s nothing he can say to justify what he did. But I have to know what the hell he was thinking, where he was coming from.”

Manning pressed his lips to her temple. “Your father never liked me, Taylor. That was obvious from the day we met. He barely wanted to shake my hand, and every time I went over to your house, he glared at me and made comments under his breath. My dad told me he was just being an overprotective father, but I always sensed there was more to it than that.”

Taylor silently stared out the windows that offered panoramic views of the sprawling estate. She thought of her recent conversation with her father, heard his words echo through her mind:
You’re my daughter, Taylor.
I just want what’s best for you. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.

“I knew he blamed us for what happened to Micah,” Manning continued. “But I never thought he’d go to such lengths to punish us and keep us apart.”

“Neither did I,” Taylor murmured. “It never even crossed my mind. How naive.”

“I guess we both were.” Manning kissed the top of her head. “I remember Mom telling me how subdued you sounded when you called that day. But she said that was to be expected since you were still grieving over Micah. But after I showed her your letter, she realized you must have been calling to break up with me.”

Taylor shook her head slowly. “Your family never stopped loving me,” she marveled. “Even though they thought I hurt you, they still welcomed me back into the fold.”

Manning rubbed his jaw against her temple. “You’ve always been part of the Wolf Pack, Taylor. That’s never going to change.”

Her heart swelled with gratitude. Cuddling closer to him, she whispered, “Do you still have the letter?”

“No. Not anymore.” His chest lifted and fell on a deep exhalation. “I kept it for years. Tortured myself reading it over and over again, hoping the words would magically change one day. But after I attended your concert, I went home and burned the letter. I figured that was the first step to letting go of the past…letting go of my hopes.”

Taylor’s throat constricted. She kissed his chest, silently consoling.

“Burning it didn’t help, of course,” he murmured. “I’d read it so many times I knew it by heart.”

Taylor was afraid to ask. But she had to know. “What did it say?”

Manning paused for so long she thought he wouldn’t answer her. When he finally spoke, his voice was laced with sadness and anger. “I won’t repeat it word for word. The gist of it was that you’d had time to reflect on our relationship, and you thought it was best for us to go our separate ways. You couldn’t think about me without thinking about what we’d allowed to happen to Micah. You didn’t think we were good for each other, and you couldn’t be with someone you didn’t trust.” He swallowed roughly. “You told me not to contact you anymore because you never wanted to see me again.”

“God,” Taylor said in a ravaged whisper, her heart twisting with grief and fury. “I
never
would have written those things. Never in a million years.”

“I should have known that,” Manning said regretfully. “I knew you. I knew how you felt about me. You gave yourself to me the night before you left. It was a precious gift—the ultimate expression of love and trust. I should have known better than to give up on you. I should have known better than to give up on
us
.”

“Me too,” Taylor whispered achingly. “I gave up on us as well, and I am
so
sorry for that.”

“So am I.” Manning clasped her tighter and pressed a lingering kiss to her temple. “Thank you for coming back to me, sweetheart.”

Taylor closed her eyes as a tear escaped. “Thank you for waiting….”

31

“
G
ot a minute?”

Manning glanced up from signing a stack of documents to see Saul Rutledge standing in the doorway of his office the next morning.

“Hey,” Manning greeted him. “What’re you still doing here? I thought you were taking the wife and kids up to the lake for a few days.”

“Still am. I’ll be heading out soon. Just had to wrap up a few things and make some calls.” Saul grinned. “I thought you’d like to know that Curtis Pratt accepted our offer—not that there was any doubt he would.”

Manning nodded approvingly. “Glad to hear it. I think he’ll be a great fit here.”

“So do I. That’s why he was my top candidate. Harvard grad, plenty of litigation experience, well versed in patent law. And he’s sharp and hungry. A real go-getter. Kinda reminds me of your cousin, Marcus.”

Manning smiled. “So I’m not the only one who felt that way.”

“Nope. Everyone on the committee made the same observation.” Saul smiled, tucking his hands into his pockets as he approached Manning’s desk. “I have to admit I was a little worried for Curtis once I found out that Caitlyn Spencer was an old friend of yours. I thought you might give her the job out of loyalty.”

“Nah,” Manning murmured. “Hiring Caitlyn wouldn’t have been a good move.”

“I’m so relieved to hear you say that.”

“Why?”

Saul hesitated, looking discomfited as he lowered himself into a visitor chair. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but she propositioned me that night over dinner.”

“Is that right?” Manning drawled, setting his pen down. “Do tell.”

Saul made a pained face. “She offered to take me back to her hotel room and ‘suck my dick dry’ if I promised her the job. I was pretty shocked. With her qualifications, she doesn’t need to resort to trading sexual favors to land any job. When I told her that, she got offended and started backpedaling, first insisting that she wasn’t serious and then claiming that I’d misunderstood her.” He snorted. “I don’t know how anyone could misinterpret an offer to have their dick ‘sucked dry,’ but okay. She said she’d deny everything if I told you about the conversation, and she was confident that you’d take her word over mine.”

Manning frowned, shaking his head in disgust. “She told me you spent the whole evening flirting with her and ogling her breasts. She also claimed that you pretty much offered her the position.”

“Like hell I did!” Saul protested, his face reddening in outrage. “Even if she
had
been my top choice, I wouldn’t have offered her a damn thing without consulting you first. As for staring at her breasts, they were damn near impossible to miss in that ridiculously low-cut dress she was wearing—which she’d obviously put on for
your
benefit. If anything, I spent the whole evening trying to look at everything
but
her breasts. I can’t tell you how many times I must have counted the tines of my fork or checked my cell phone for missed calls. Every time I even
glanced
in Caitlyn’s direction, I was afraid one of her tits would fall out.”

Manning couldn’t help laughing.

Even Saul had to chuckle.

“Seriously though,” he continued after another moment. “The only one who behaved inappropriately at that dinner table was Caitlyn.”

“I know,” Manning said grimly. “I didn’t believe her. It was obviously a preemptive move to cover her ass in case you came to me first.”

Saul shook his head in angry disbelief. “What a crazy, narcissistic bitch. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“I was glad when you took her name out of the running. Unlike all the other candidates, I don’t think Caitlyn was remotely interested in joining Wolf Biotech because it’s such a great company. She had her sights set on one thing and one thing only: sinking her claws into you.”

Manning snorted. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Well, now that you mention it, there
are
things about Caitlyn I think you should be aware of.”

Manning narrowed his eyes. “Like what?”

Saul frowned. “The day after she propositioned me, I called her references just to see if any other red flags came up. Of course, I heard nothing but glowing praise. But I was still suspicious, so I put some feelers out there and talked to some lawyer friends in Connecticut. That’s when I hit pay dirt. According to my contacts, Caitlyn’s on her way out the door at Deutsch and Reid. She’s made one too many enemies, and the partners want her gone.”

“Are you serious?”

“Unfortunately. It seems that she had an affair with Peter Deutsch several years ago. When she made partner, it ruffled a lot of feathers because she hadn’t been pulling her weight since having a baby. There was even speculation that her kid was Deutsch’s. But I’ve seen pictures of her husband, and the daughter looks just like him. So I don’t put too much stock in those paternity rumors.

“Anyway, Caitlyn continued sleeping with Deutsch even after she made partner. The affair got so messy that his wife showed up at the office one day to confront Caitlyn and ended up leaving in tears. A few days later, she stuck a pistol in her mouth and blew her brains out. Not surprisingly, many people blamed Caitlyn and Deutsch for his wife’s suicide. Apparently Caitlyn didn’t appreciate all the backlash. When she overheard a couple of paralegals gossiping about her, she sent them an anonymous email with an autopsy photo showing Deutsch’s dead wife with half of her head blown off. The email message basically told the girls that this was how
they’d
end up if they didn’t stop slandering her.” Saul grimaced, shaking his head. “The threat alarmed the paralegals, who immediately reported it to HR. Caitlyn denied any knowledge of the email, and Deutsch backed her up. Needless to say, this didn’t go over too well with the partners. They’ve been trying to get rid of Caitlyn ever since. The only reason she’s still there is that Deutsch has been protecting her. But if he doesn’t cut her loose soon, he’s gonna have a serious mutiny on his hands.”